Baron Foley is a title that has been created twice in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

, both times for members of the same family. The first creation came in 1712 in favour of Thomas Foley, who had earlier represented

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. He was the grandson of the prominent ironmaster Thomas Foley and the nephew of Paul Foley,

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and

Philip Foley Philip Foley (12 May 1648 – December 1716) was the youngest of the three surviving sons of the British ironmaster Thomas Foley. His father transferred all his ironworks in the Midlands to him in 1668 and 1669 for £60,000. He also settled a ...

. However, this creation became extinct in 1766 on the death of his son, the second Baron. The second creation came in 1776 when the barony was revived for Thomas Foley, the cousin, heir and namesake of the last holder of the 1712 creation, who was created Baron Foley, of

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

in Worcestershire. He was a former Member of Parliament for

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. ...

and

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He also represented Droitwich and Herefordshire in Parliament and served as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...

. On his death the title passed to his son, the third Baron. He notably held office as

Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(Government Chief Whip in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

) in the Whig administration of Lord Grey. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Baron. He was also a Whig politician and succeeded his father as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms in 1833, a post he held until 1834, and again from 1835 to 1841, from 1846 to 1852, from 1852 to 1858, from 1859 to 1866 and from 1868 to 1869. On the death of his second son, the sixth Baron, in 1918, this line of the family failed. The late Baron was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the seventh Baron. He was the grandson of General the Hon. Sir St George Gerald Foley, third son of the third Baron. the title is held by the seventh Baron's grandson, the ninth Baron. He succeeded his father, a composer and pianist who held the title for 83 years, in 2012. The family seat was

Witley Court Witley Court, in Great Witley, Worcestershire, England, is a ruined Italianate architecture, Italianate mansion. Built for the Baron Foley, Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the ...

until this was sold to trustees for William, Lord Ward (later the 1st Earl of Dudley), in 1837.

Barons Foley, first creation (1712)

* Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (1673–1733) * Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley (1703–1766)

Barons Foley;, second creation (1776)

* Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (1716–1777) * Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley (1742–1793) *

Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley PC, DL (22 December 1780 – 16 April 1833), was a British peer and Whig politician. He served as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen Pensioners under Lord Grey between 1830 and 1833. Background Foley ...

(1780–1833) * Thomas Henry Foley, 4th Baron Foley (1808–1869) * Henry Thomas Foley, 5th Baron Foley (1850–1905) * Fitzalan Charles John Foley, 6th Baron Foley (1852–1918) * Gerald Henry Foley, 7th Baron Foley (1898–1927) * Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley (1923–2012) * Thomas Henry Foley, 9th Baron Foley (b. 1961) The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

is the present holder's sixth cousin, Rupert Thomas Foley (b. 1970), great-great-great-great-grandson of Hon. Edward Foley, second son of the 1st Baron (see succession chart below).
The heir presumptive's heir is his son by his marriage to Rachel Staines (married 2013) * ''Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (1716–1777)'' ** ''Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley (1742–1793)'' *** ''Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley (1780–1833)'' ****'' Sir St George Gerald Foley (1814–1897)'' *****''Henry St. George Foley (1866–1903)'' ****** ''Gerald Foley, 7th Baron Foley (1898–1927)'' ******* ''Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley (1923–2012)'' ******** Thomas Foley, 9th Baron Foley (born 1961) **''Hon. Edward Foley (1747–1803)'' ***''

John Hodgetts-Foley John Hodgetts Hodgetts-Foley (17 July 1797 – 13 November 1861), born John Hodgetts Foley, of Prestwood House (then in Kingswinford, and now in Kinver) in Staffordshire was a British MP. He was the second son of the Hon. Edward Foley of Stoke ...

(1797–1861)'' ****''

Henry Hodgetts-Foley Henry John Wentworth Hodgetts-Foley of Prestwood House, then in Kingswinford parish (9 December 1828 – 23 April 1894) was a British MP. He was the son of John Hodgetts Hodgetts-Foley and a descendant of General Thomas Gage and Margaret Kem ...

(1828–1894)'' *****'' Paul Henry Foley (1857–1928)'' ******'' Henry Thomas Hamilton Foley (1905–1959)'' *******''Andrew Thomas Foley (1937–2007)'' ********(1). Rupert Thomas Foley (born 1970) *********(2). son Foley ********(3). Ian Richard Foley (born 1973) *********(4). William Allen Mills Foley (born 2006) *******(5). Sir John Paul Foley (born 1939)

References

Sources

* * Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley Baronies in the Peerage of Great Britain Extinct baronies in the Peerage of Great Britain Noble titles created in 1712 Noble titles created in 1776 Foley family

Barons Foley, first creation (1712)

Barons Foley;, second creation (1776)

See also

References

Sources