William Markham (bishop)

William Markham (1719 – 3 November 1807), English divine, served as Archbishop of York from 1777 until his death.

The Most Reverend and Right Honourable William Markham
Archbishop of York
Contemporary portrait by Benjamin West.
Province	Province of York
Diocese	Diocese of York
In office	17 January 1777 (conf.)–1807 (death)
Predecessor	Robert Hay Drummond
Successor	Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt
Other post(s)	Lord High Almoner (1777–1807) Dean of Rochester (20 February 1765 {instit.}–October 1767) Dean of Christ Church (October 1767 {exch.}–1777) Bishop of Chester (February 1771 {conf.}–1777)
Personal details
Born	1719 Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland
Died	(1807-11-03)3 November 1807 (aged 88) Mayfair, Middlesex, England
Buried	11 November 1807, Westminster Abbey
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Residence	South Audley Street, Mayfair (at death)
Parents	Major William Markham & Elizabeth née Markham
Spouse	Sarah Goddard ​ (m. 1759)​
Children	6 sons & 7 daughters
Education	Westminster School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Ordination history of William Markham
History Priestly ordination Ordained by Thomas Secker (Oxford) Date 17 December 1748 Place Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Episcopal consecration Consecrated by Robert Hay Drummond (York) Date 17 February 1771 Place Chapel Royal, St James's Palace
Source(s):[1][2]

Arms: Azure on a chief Or a lion issuant Gules.^[3]

Early life

William Markham was born in 1719 to Major William Markham and Elizabeth (née Markham) of Kinsale in Ireland.

He was educated at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford,^[4] where he matriculated on 6 June 1738, graduating BA 1742, MA 1745, BCL & DCL 1752.

Career

He was one of the best scholars of his day, and attained to the headship of his old school and college: he served as Headmaster of Westminster 1753–1765, and Dean of Christ Church 1767–1776. Between those headships, he held the deanery of Rochester 1765–1767. He held from time to time a number of livings, and in 1771 was made Bishop of Chester and tutor to the Prince of Wales^[4] (later George IV). In 1776 he became Archbishop of York, and also Lord High Almoner and privy councillor.

He was a fierce critic of pamphleteer Richard Price concerning the American rebellion. He was for some time a close friend of Edmund Burke, but his strong championship of Warren Hastings caused a breach.^[4] He was accused by Lord Chatham of preaching pernicious doctrines, and was a victim of the Gordon Riots in 1780.

Bishop Markham was also the person who composed the Latin memorial for George Berkeley, the famous philosopher.^[5]

Personal life

In 1759, Markham married Sarah Goddard, the daughter of John Goddard, a wealthy English merchant of Rotterdam, with whom he had six sons and seven daughters:

• William Markham (1760–1815), of the East India Company, Private Secretary to Governor-General Warren Hastings^[6]
• John Markham (1761–1827), Admiral of the Royal Navy, First Sea Lord
• George Markham (1763–1822), Dean of York
• Henrietta Sarah Markham (1764–1844), married Ewan Law MP
• Elizabeth Catherine Markham (1765–1820), married William Barnett (as his second wife)
• David Markham (1766–1795), Lieutenant-Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Foot, killed in the Second Maroon War in Jamaica^[7]
• Robert Markham (1768–1837), Archdeacon of York
• Osborne Markham (1769–1827), MP for Calne
• Alicia Henrietta Markham (1771–1840), married Rev. Henry Foster Mills^[8]
• Georgina Markham (1772–1793), died unmarried
• Frederica Markham (1774–1860), married David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield
• Anne Katherine Markham (1778–1808), died unmarried
• Cecilia Markham (1783–1865), married Rev. Robert Philip Goodenough

Descendants

His granddaughter, Laura Markham, the second daughter of his son William, married William Mure, the Scottish scholar and politician who sat in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1855 as the Conservative MP for Renfrewshire and was Laird of Caldwell in Ayrshire.^[9] Their daughter, Emma Mure, (1833–1911) married Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale (1828–1876) and had Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale.

His granddaughter, Emma Markham, another daughter of his son William, married the politician William Crompton-Stansfield who sat in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1853 as Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for Huddersfield.

Memorial

• 
  Memorial to Archbishop William Markham in York Minster.

See also

• Markham, Ontario – named for him by his friend John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.

Footnotes

1. "Markham, William". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. CCEd Ordination ID 139986. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
2. "Markham, William (at Chester)". The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835. CCEd Appointment ID 283859. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
3. "The Armorial Bearings of the Bishops of Chester". Cheshire Heraldry Society. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Markham, William" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 735.
5. Collected Works of George Berkeley, 1951, Thomas Nelson Press, editor A.A. Luce, vol. VII p.385
6. Markham, Clements R., ed. (2010) [1881]. Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet. p. 153. ISBN 9781108022552.
7. Cannon, Richard, ed. (1848). Historical Record of the Twentieth, or the East Devonshire Regiment of Foot. Parker, Furnivall, & Parker. p. 27. ISBN 9780665483516.
8. Troide, Lars E.; Cooke, Stewart J., eds. (2012). The Early Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney. Vol. 5. p. 185. ISBN 9780773586765.
9. William Mure. Glasgow University (multi-tab page)

References

• Markham, David Frederick (1854). A history of the Markham family. London: John Bowyer Nichols and sons.

External links

• William Markham at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)

Church of England titles
Preceded by Edmund Keene	Bishop of Chester 1771–1776	Succeeded by Beilby Porteus
Preceded by Robert Hay Drummond	Archbishop of York 1776–1807	Succeeded by Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt