Stephen was a Chorister of
Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire ( – ) and was mentioned in
John Evelyn's Diary as
a poore boy from the quire of Salisbury. His elder brother
John Fox had obtained a position in the royal court on the recommendation of the Dean of Salisbury Cathedral, and first introduced his younger brother Stephen to the royal court, specifically to the household of the royal children, as "supernumerary servant and play-fellow". The king established a new office of
Paymaster of the Forces, of which Fox was the first occupant, with premises in a wing of
Horseguards in
Whitehall. His success in restoring the financial position of the army stemmed from his ability to raise credit in the
City of London, largely thanks to his reputation for honesty and reliability, which would later be repaid to him by the Treasury, when Parliament so voted. The yield from bills passed to this effect were often below that forecast, which in the absence of loans would leave the troops unpaid. Fox, however, was personally liable for the loans he raised, and to compensate him for the great risks he undertook, he was allowed to retain certain profits on his repayment by the Treasury. He charged the Treasury 6% on the funds he had borrowed, but much of that he repaid to his own creditors. He was allowed other perquisites, including 2% bonus on capital and interest repaid to him by the Treasury, and "poundage" from 1667 which allowed him to retain 4 pence, and from 1668 one shilling, in every pound of army pay, ostensibly to cover administration costs, but in reality mostly profit. This therefore amounted to one twentieth of all army pay, an annual income for Fox of about £7,000, added to his official salary of £400 per annum, and whatever he could save from borrowing at rates below 6%. In just 20 months from January 1665 to September 1666 he advanced a total of £221,000 for army pay, on repayment of which he received interest from the Treasury of almost £13,000. In addition he received a further 2% bonus, worth another £3,000 and also poundage. This office he held for 15 years between 1661 and 1676, and for another year in 1679–1680.
Political career In November 1661 he became a
Member of Parliament for
Salisbury. In 1665 he was
knighted; was returned as a
Member of Parliament for
Westminster on 27 February 1679, and succeeded the Earl of Rochester as a Commissioner of the Treasury, filling that office for twenty-three years and during three reigns. In 1672 he bought the manor of
Redlynch in Somerset, where he built a new house in 1708–1709. In 1680 he resigned the paymastership and was made First Commissioner of Horse. In 1684 he became sole Commissioner of Horse. He was offered a peerage by King
James II, on condition of converting to
Roman Catholicism, but refused, in spite of which he was allowed to retain his commissionerships. In 1685 he was again an MP for Salisbury, and opposed the bill for a standing army supported by the king. During the
Glorious Revolution, he maintained an attitude of decent reserve, but on James's flight, he submitted to the new King
William III, who confirmed him in his offices. He was again elected for
Westminster in 1691 and 1695, for
Cricklade in 1698, and finally in 1713 once more for Salisbury. It is his distinction to have founded
Royal Hospital Chelsea, to which he contributed £13,000. As a statesman he was second-rate, but as a public servant he creditably discharged all the duties with which he was entrusted. Unlike some other statesmen of his day, he grew rich in the service of the nation without being suspected of corruption or forfeiting the esteem of his contemporaries. ==Marriages and children==