Robert Foley (c.1651–1702) of

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

was the son of Robert Foley (d. 1676).

Biography

He succeeded to his father's business as an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminiu ...

and naval contractor for ironware. His contract with the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

has been printed, and lists 30 different kinds of nails and nearly 60 other species of iron goods. However, he lost his contract to the rising

Ambrose Crowley Sir Ambrose Crowley III (1 April 1657/8''England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837'' – 17 October 1713) was a 17th-century English ironmonger and politician who was returned to the House of Commons in 1713. Early ye ...

. He also inherited from his father a fine house in

High Street (next door to the Talbot Inn, but now incorporated into the Talbot Hotel); an estate at Netherton in Dudley; and the manor of Kenswick in

Knightwick Knightwick is a small village and civil parish (with Doddenham) in the Malvern Hills district in the county of Worcestershire, England. History Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Knightwick Parish ceased to be responsible for mainta ...

. He settled the latter (at least) on his marriage to Anne daughter of Dudley Lord North.'Parishes: Knightwick', ''Victoria County History, Worcestershire'': volume 3 (1913), pp. 437–442
"Robert Foley"
Date accessed: 15 March 2008. There were several children including Dudley Foley and his heir North Foley. The second Robert represented the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

from 1685 to 1689, a period when his ironmaster relatives (such as Paul Foley) were out of Parliament.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Robert 1651-1676 Ironmongers Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall People from Stourbridge 1651 births 1702 deaths English MPs 1685–1687

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...