Edward Foley

Who was Edward Foley?

Edward Foley was the second son of Thomas, 1st Lord Foley.

Like his brother, he was profligate with the great family wealth. His father's will settled the paternal estate at Stoke Edith, Herefordshire together with the manor of Malvern and property bought from Lord Montfort, but limited him to an annuity from the estate, the balance of the income being applied to pay his debts.

He married firstly Lady Anne Coventry without having children before the marriage was dissolved by Act of Parliament in 1786. In 1790, he married his distant cousin Eliza Maria Foley Hodgetts, by whom he had two sons, Edward Thomas Foley and John Hodgetts Hodgetts-Foley. She was the heiress of the Prestwood estate, formerly owned by Philip Foley. On their marriage, the Stoke Edith estate was settled to go to their eldest son and the Prestwood estate to their second.

Edward Foley sat as Member of Parliament for Droitwich from April 1768 to May 1774; then for Worcestershire until his death.