Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley

Thomas Henry Foley, 4th Baron Foley of Kidderminster DL (11 December 1808 – 20 November 1869) was a British peer and Liberal politician. He held office in every Whig/Liberal government between 1833 and 1869.

Family and estate

Foley was the son of Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley, and Lady Lucy Anne FitzGerald. James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, and Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, were his maternal great-grandparents, and through the latter he was a descendant of King Charles II.

Lord Foley married Lady Mary Charlotte Howard, daughter of Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, in 1849. He died in November 1869, aged 60, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Henry Thomas Foley. Lady Foley died in 1897.

In 1837, he sold Witley Court and the heavily encumbered Great Witley estate to trustees of William, Lord Ward for £890,000. No longer having to pay interest on the debts charged on that estate, he was left considerably better off, as a result of the sale.

Political career

He was elected to the House of Commons for Worcestershire in 1830, a seat he held until 1832, when he was returned for the newly created constituency of West Worcestershire. In April the following year he succeeded as fourth Baron Foley on the early death of his father and took his seat in the House of Lords. He also succeeded his father as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, despite being only 24 years of age.

He remained in this post until the government fell in 1834, and held the same office under Lord Melbourne from 1835 to 1841, under Lord John Russell from 1846 to 1852 and 1865 to 1866, under Lord Aberdeen from 1852 to 1855, under Lord Palmerston from 1859 to 1865 and under William Ewart Gladstone from 1868 to 1869. However, Lord Foley was never a member of the cabinet. Apart from his political career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire between 1837 and 1839.

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    Parliament of the United Kingdom
    Preceded by
    Henry Beauchamp Lygon
    Sir Thomas Edward Winnington
    Member of Parliament for Worcestershire
    1830–1832
    With: Henry Beauchamp Lygon 1830–1831
    Frederick Spencer 1831–1832
    Constituency abolished
    New constituency Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire
    1832–1833
    With: Henry Beauchamp Lygon
    Succeeded by
    Henry Beauchamp Lygon
    Henry Jeffreys Winnington
    Political offices
    Preceded by
    The 3rd Lord Foley
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1833–1834
    Succeeded by
    The Viscount Hereford
    Preceded by
    The Viscount Hereford
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1835–1841
    Succeeded by
    The Lord Forester
    Preceded by
    The Lord Forester
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1846–1852
    Succeeded by
    The Earl of Sandwich
    Preceded by
    The Earl of Sandwich
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1852–1858
    Succeeded by
    The Earl Talbot
    Preceded by
    The Earl Talbot
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1859–1866
    Succeeded by
    The Lord Ossulston
    Preceded by
    The Marquess of Exeter
    Captain of the Honourable Corps
    of Gentlemen-at-Arms

    1868–1869
    Succeeded by
    The Marquess of Normanby
    Honorary titles
    Preceded by
    The Lord Lyttelton
    Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire
    1837–1839
    Succeeded by
    The Lord Lyttelton
    Peerage of Great Britain
    Preceded by
    Thomas Foley
    Baron Foley
    2nd creation
    1833–1869
    Succeeded by
    Henry Thomas Foley
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