Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (1673–1733)

Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley (8 November 1673 – 22 January 1733) was the eldest son of Thomas Foley (c. 1641–1701) and inherited the Great Witley estate on his father's death. He was Member of Parliament for Stafford from 1694 until his elevation to the peerage in 1712, as one of 12 peers created on the recommendation of the Lord Treasurer, Robert Harley Earl of Oxford, to give him a majority in the House of Lords.

His only child was Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley, on whose death the title became extinct, while the estates devolved upon his distant cousin Thomas Foley of Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, for whom the title was revived in 1776.

References

* Stuart Handley, 'Foley, Thomas, first Baron Foley (1673–1733)', "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9790, accessed 2 March 2008]
* "Burkes Peerage".