Background
He took over his father"s ironworks in and around the Forest of Dean in the early 1670s and continued them until 1685 when he let them to John Wheeler and Richard Avenant, who had managed ironworks for his brother Philip Foley.
He took over his father"s ironworks in and around the Forest of Dean in the early 1670s and continued them until 1685 when he let them to John Wheeler and Richard Avenant, who had managed ironworks for his brother Philip Foley.
This lasted until after Paul"s death. Paul Foley had the resources from his father and the profits of his ironworks to buy himself a substantial estate around Stoke Edith in Herefordshire, part of which still belongs to a descendant. Important purchases included Stoke Edith from the trustees of Sir Henry Lingen in 1670 (made by his father), and other property from Sir Thomas Cooke in 1683.
He rebuilt the house at Stoke Edith and laid out formal gardens and a park (which he had a royal licence to empark.
Paul Foley was elected Member of Parliament for Hereford in 1679. He was elected again for the same seat in 1689.
He actively campaigned for the exclusion of the Duke of York from the throne. He was imprisoned at the time of the Rye House Plot and again during the Monmouth Rebellion.
However, James II later favoured him during his own later difficulties.
During the early 1690s, he sat on several important Parliamentary committees, including being a commissioner of accounts. He was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1695, a post he held until his death. Their eldest son was Thomas Foley.
Exclusion Bill Parliament. Habeas Corpus Parliament.