Lady Emily Foley

Lady Emily Foley (23 June 1805 – 1 January 1900) was a major landowner and benefactress in nineteenth-century England.

She was born Lady Emily Graham, the daughter of James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose and Duchess of Montrose in 1805.

In 1832, she married The Hon. Edward Foley, who was fourteen years her senior. On his death in 1846, she gained control of extensive estates in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire. She also became Lady of the Manor of Wednesbury and of Great Malvern. The inherited estate in the 1883 generated close to £15,000 a year.

She presided over the rapid growth of Great Malvern during the middle of the nineteenth century. She placed many restrictions on building in the town, ensuring that all houses were well spaced, had large gardens, and maintained many trees. Her family name of Graham provided the name of Graham Road in the centre of the town, with its many large Victorian houses, including the Montrose Hotel. She was also a substantial benefactor of many churches and schools in Great Malvern. When railway line was to be built from Malvern to Hereford across land she owned, she insisted that cuttings be excavated so that the unsightly trains could not be seen. She had a waiting room built for her own use at Malvern station, so that whilst waiting for the ongoing train to London she did not have to wait with the common people, This room became known as Lady Foley’s Tea Room.

She left no children and her husband's will made Lady Emily free to dispose the Stoke Edith estate in Herefordshire and extensive lands to whomever she chose but instead she allowed it to pass to her husband's great-nephew Paul Henry Foley of Prestwood, Staffordshire.