A HISTORY OF THE MARKHAM FAMILY BY THE REV. DAVID FREDERICK MARKHAM CHAPTER I LINE OF MARKHAMS OF MARKHAM, AFTERWARDS OF COTHAM. West and East Markham are two parishes contiguous to each other, in the county of Nottingham, and southern division of the hundred of Bassetlaw, which gave their name to the family of Markham, where they had been seated from time immemorial, and were, says Camden in his Britannia, "very famous heretofore both for antiquity and valor." The family of Markham traces its origin to a date anterior to the Norman Conquest; and, though we cannot penetrate into the remote period beyond the time of Edward the Confessor, yet subsequently to that reign the line is unbroken. After the Norman Conquest, almost the whole of England was parcelled out among the adventurers who followed William the Conqueror, and West Markham became the foe of Roger de Busli, a chieftain in high estimation with William, who, in addition to this, conferred upon him no less than thirtynine manors in the county of Nottingham. Under this Roger, the manor of West Markham was held by CLARON, seated there before the time of the Norman Invasion; whose successors assumed the name of the place of their residence, after the manner of their conquerors, and were styled "de Marcham," the ancient mode of spelling the name. CLARON, then, is the first person who can be fixed upon as the origin of the Markham stock. He was succeeded in the family possessions by his son ROGER, who not only possessed that which decended to him, but also held a manor in East Markham; and in the reign of the first Henry, we find that FULC his son had succeeded to the paternal inheritance. There is no record of these two men besides what is known of the lands they enjoyed; and certainly in those early days after the subjugation of the country, few or none of the Saxons were trusted by their suspicious conquerors with any high place of trust, and consequently both inclination and policy would suggest to them to be contented with living unnoticed in obscurity. Fulc, however, seems not to have been unmindful of what was due to religion (as it was esteemed in those days), for it is said that he "gave to the monastery of St. Mary of Blithe, and the monks there, a toft and croft, and six selions of land in Est Marcham." SIR ALEXANDER DE MARCHAM, Lord of Marcham, his son, was born about the year 1130 A.D. and is the first man of note of the family, having distinguished himself in the turbulent wars of Stephen`s reign. He seems to have been in high credit with Henry II., and among other places of trust was appointed castellan or constable of Nottingham Castle; one of the most important strongholds in the kingdom, built at a great labour and expence by William Peverel, a natural son of the Conqueror, who is said to have intrusted the command of it to Sir Alured de Clifton, and afterwards to his son Sir Robert. Who were the intermediate castellans I do not find; but Sir Alexander held it through the reign of Richard I. and into that of John.* * "In Markham churchyard be many tombstones cut à·Í antique, cross-legged, with shields and other ornaments." Ex coll. F. Markham. These have long disappeared. In the sixth epistle of Francis Markham's "Book of Honour," he compares the office of castellan to that of viscount, and states that in France they were as much esteemed. The office obtained from the King "letters patent of great trust and fidelitie, as may be seen by divers precedents at this time extant: and for mine owne parte, I myselfe have seene one granted to an ancestor of mine owne, by the name and style of Sir Alexander Markham, knight, castellan of Nottingham Castle; the tenour or purport of which commission or grant was in effect and substance almost the very same which at this day is granted to the lords lieutenant of the several counties of England:" and this agrees with the description of the office as laid down by Mr. Hartshorne in his account of Rockingham Castle, wherein he shows that, "during the absence of the King, constables (comites stabuli) were appointed to the custody of the royal castles. They usually possessed the grant for three years, sometimes for life, but chiefly during the King's pleasure, 'cum pertinentibus habenduin quamdiu Regi placuerit.' The duties of the office consisted in seeing that the royal grants in his district were not abused, such as the transfer of mills, and of land; in assisting at the execution of traitors; in keeping state prisoners in safe custody; in paying the garrisoned soldiers; in observing the legal provisions concerning such as came to tournaments; in defending the possessions of the Church. The privilege of holding a castle as its constable was considered so honourable, that it was only confided to men of high military renown, or of ascertained courage and attachment to the crown." The castle of Nottingham was one of the principal military posts in the kingdom; we have therefore every reason to conclude that Sir Alexander was not the least among the warlike chiefs of that warlike age, and that he had done good service to the crown. Whom he married is not known, and the time of his death is uncertain, but he left one son who succeded him. ...