Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
Ridlington
Ridlington is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village was 202 at the time of the 2001 census, including Ayston, Leighfield and Wardley also increasing to 260 at the 2011 census.
The ...
, Rutland, and Frances Sapcote (d. 1599) daughter and co-heir of Robert Sapcote of
Elton Elton may refer to:
Places
England
* Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village
** Elton Hall, a baronial hall
* Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish
* Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish
* Elton, Derbyshire, ...
, Huntingdonshire. She was a cousin of the influential courtier
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford
Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford ( Harington; 1580–1627) was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the primary non-royal performer in contemporary court masques, a letter-writer, and a ...
.
Marriage and the court
In 1598 she married Sir Anthony Markham (1577-1604) of
Sedgebrook
Sedgebrook is an English village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It lies on the A52 road, west of Grantham. Its population, given as 372 in 2001, fell by the 2011 census to 355, and was estimated to be 347 in 2 ...
, Lincolnshire. He had been educated at
Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
and
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
. They were married at
Ridlington
Ridlington is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village was 202 at the time of the 2001 census, including Ayston, Leighfield and Wardley also increasing to 260 at the 2011 census.
The ...
, in
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, by the Rector, Thomas Gibson. She had four children. He was knighted by
James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
at
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...
on 23 April 1603. He died on 10 December 1604.
After her husband's death, Bridget became a
lady of the bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...
King James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
. This appointment was due to the influence of her cousin the Countess of Bedford. She continued to manage her lands at Sedgebrook.
Bridget, Lady Markham, died at
Twickenham Park
Twickenham Park was an estate in Twickenham in south-west London.
History
The New Park of Richmond, later called Twickenham Park, passed to Edward Bacon in 1574 and to the English philosopher, Francis Bacon, in 1593. In 1608 the property passed ...
, a house belonging to the Countess of Bedford, on 4 May 1609. A relation, and fellow courtier and protégée of the Countess of Bedford,
Cecily Bulstrode
Cecily Bulstrode (15844 August 1609) was a courtier and subject of poetry. She was the daughter of Edward Bulstrode (1550–1595) and Cecily Croke; she was a cousin of Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford, in whose household she was a member in 1605. ...
was also ill at Twickenham, and she died on 6 August 1609.
Elegies
A Latin inscription at
St Mary's Church, Twickenham
St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin. It is on Church Street, Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon T ...
records her close friendship with Lucy, Countess of Bedford, her appointment to the queen's privy chamber, her marriage and death on 4 May 1609.
Epitaphs were composed by
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
; "Man is the world, and death the ocean",
Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont ( ; 1584 – 6 March 1616) was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher.
Beaumont's life
Beaumont was the son of Sir Francis Beaumont of Grace Dieu, near Thrin ...
"As unthrifts groan in strawe for their Pawned beds", and others.
The Countess of Bedford wrote, "Elegie on the Ladye Marckham by L. C. B., Death be not proud, thy hand gave not this blow". The poem begins by addressing Death and describing the passage of Markham's soul:
:Death be not proud, thy hand gave not this blow,
:Sin was her captive, whence thy power doth flow;
:The executioner of wrath thou art,
:But to destroy the just is not thy part.
:Thy coming, terror, anguish, grief denounce;
:Her happy state, courage, ease, joy pronounce.
:From out the crystal palace of her breast,
:The clearer soul was called to endless rest,
:(Not by the thundering voice, wherewith God threats,
:But, as with crowned saints in heaven he treats,)
:And, waited on by angels, home was brought,
:To joy that it through many dangers sought;
:The key of mercy gently did unlock
:The doors 'twixt heaven and it, when life did knock.
John Donne's poem alludes to Markham's mortal remains, her 'flesh' refined by her death like Chinese porcelain clay in an
alembic
An alembic (from ar, الإنبيق, al-inbīq, originating from grc, ἄμβιξ, ambix, 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids.
Description
The complete disti ...
to reveal the precious stones that comprise her soul:
But as the tide doth wash the slimy beach, And leaves embroidered works upon the sand, So is her flesh refined by death's cold hand. As men of China, after an age's stay Do take up porcelain, where they buried clay; So at this grave, her limbeck, which refines The diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, and mines, Of which this flesh was, her soul shall inspire Flesh of such stuff, as God, when his last fire Annuls this world, to recompense it, shall, Make and name then, th'elixir of this all.
Bridget Markham's will
Bridget's will was "published" on 3 May 1609, the day before she died. She hoped Frances would inherit and use her "childbed linen" at Sedgebrook, and her sons would go to Cambridge University. She left a legacy of £20 to Catherine Widmerpoole, a servant of the Countess of Bedford. She gave her sister Anne Harington, Lady Foljambe, a locket with a picture of the Countess of Bedford, and her latest husband Sir John Molyneux of
Teversal
Teversal is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, west of Mansfield, close to Sutton-in-Ashfield and the boundary with Derbyshire. Former names include ''Tevershalt'', ''Teversholt'', ''Tyversholtee'', ''Teve ...
was made her administrator. To the Countess of Bedford she left her coach and mares, with the household silver she had pawned in London, a crimson velvet gown and a suite of tawny clothes embroidered with cloth of silver, and Bedford was to look after Frances with an allowance of £50 yearly. She gave her fellow courtier
Jane Meautys
Jane Meutas (or Mewtas, or Mewtis, or Meautis, or Meautys) (c. 1517 – c. 1551) was an English lady of the Queen's privy chamber who became the wife of the courtier Peter Meutas (or Mewtas, etc.). Her name is sometimes given as Joan, and her ...
(1581-1659) her ruby and diamond buttons. She wanted three ''
memento mori
''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'death's heads" bought as gifts for Sir Henry Carey, the poet
Benjamin Rudyerd
Sir Benjamin Rudyerd or Rudyard (1572 – 31 May 1658) was an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1648. He was also a colonial investor who was one of the incorporators of the Providence ...
, and John Gill. Rudyerd was a contributor to the "Newes, from Anywhence" anthology, with Markham's kinswoman Cecily Bulstrode, and married another cousin Elizabeth Harington.
Family
Her four children were;
* John Markham, who married Eleanor Tyringham, daughter Sir Thomas Tyringham (1580-1636) of
Tyringham
Tyringham (/ˈtiːrɪŋəm/) is a village in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile and a half north of Newport Pagnell.
The village name is an Old English language word, and ...
. After his death she married Thomas Mordaunt son of James, Lord Mordaunt.
* Robert Markham of Sedgebrook, married (1) Rebecca Eyre, (2) Rebecca Hussey.
* Henry Markham (b. 1602).
* Frances Markham (1599-1614).
Bridget Markham's eldest son Robert Markham of Sedgebrook (1597–1667) was a Royalist; a younger son Henry fought for Parliament.
Her daughter Frances or "Frank" Markham (1599-1614) was brought up by the Countess of Bedford, but died at
Exton Hall
Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England, standing in its own extensive park.
The Hall
It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls of G ...
in Rutland in September 1614, two months before her wedding.Richard Griffin, Baron Braybrooke, ''The Private Correspondence of Jane Lady Cornwallis'' (London, 1842), pp. 25-6; Lesley Lawson, ''Out of the Shadows'' (London, 2007), p. 126: Joanna Moody, ''Correspondence of Lady Cornwallis Bacon'' (Cranbury NJ, 2003) p. 76.
Isaac Oliver
Isaac Oliver (c. 1565 – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an English portrait miniature painter.Baskett, John. ''Paul Mellon's legacy: a passion for British art'' (Yale University Press, 2007) pp. 240-1.
Life and work
Born in Rouen, he ...