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

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, 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 (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. 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.

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:

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. 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

Footnotes