Paul Foley (c.1688Will of his father Paul Foley refers to 1 January 1709 as shortly after he would be of age. – 28 November 1739), Newport, Herefordshire, was an English barrister and politician who sat 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 ...

from 1713 to 1715. Foley was the second son of Paul Foley, who was

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 ...

from 1695 to 1698. He was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

at the age of 5 in 1693 but eventually was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1706 and called to the bar in 1708. He married Susannah Massingberd, daughter of Sir William Massingberd, 2nd Baronet, of Bratoft Hall, Gunby, Lincolnshire. Foley's father had died in 1699 and his parliamentary colleague Robert Harley took an interest in the Foley family, as he'd married his cousin Elizabeth Foley in 1685. He was instrumental in arranging with the Duchess of Newcastle for Foley to stand at Aldborough at the 1713 general election. Foley was returned as Member of Parliament in an expensive contest. His only identified contribution in Parliament was a speech regarding the expulsion of

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

. Circumstances changed at Aldborough, and at the general election in 1715, he found another seat at

Weobley Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white village ...

. He was elected MP in the poll, but his election was overturned on petition on 18 June 1715. He contested a by-election at Weobley in 1732, but without success. Foley married as his second wife by licence dated 13 December 1722, Susannah Hoare, daughter of

Henry Hoare Henry Hoare II (1705–1785), known as Henry the Magnificent, was an English banker and garden owner-designer. Family Henry's grandfather, Richard Hoare, was a goldsmith-banker and Lord Mayor of London. His father, Henry Hoare I, bought th ...

, banker, of Fleet Street, London and Stourton Castle, Wiltshire. The marriage into a prosperous banking family combined with a successful legal practice made him rich. He died on 28 November 1739 without issue by either wife. Administration of the estate was granted to his great-nephew Thomas Foley.

References

*Robert Beatson, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

1680s births 1739 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Politicians from Herefordshire

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

British MPs 1713–1715 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub