Sir Arthur Basil Markham, 1st Baronet (25 August 1866 – 5 August 1916) was a British industrialist and politician.

Life

Markham was born on 25 August 1866 at Brimington Hall in

Brimington Brimington is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 8,788. The town of Staveley is to the east, and Hollingwood is nearby. The pari ...

, near Chesterfield. He was the son of Charles Markham who was part owner of the family coal mine, Markham Colliery, in Chesterfield.Arthur Markham Memorial Prize Essays
Sheffield University, accessed 22 August 2008 On his mother's side he was the grandson of

Sir Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

, designer of

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

. In 1898 he married Lucy Bertram Cunningham (c.1873–4 February 1960). Markham served from 1900 to 1916 as Liberal M.P. for the Mansfield Division of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. He was created a baronet, Markham of Beachborough Park, Newington,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, on 10 July 1911. The districts of Beachborough and Newington are now eclipsed by the

Eurotunnel Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom, operates the LeShuttle railway service, and earns reven ...

terminus on the outskirts of

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

. Arthur Markham's technical skill, commercial insight and courage helped the development of considerable parts of the English and Welsh coalfields. He managed and owned a number of other coalmines, and there are many villages, businesses, streets and areas in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

bearing the name Markham. His brother was

Charles Paxton Markham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

owner of Markham & Co. Engineering of Chesterfield. The firm was one of largest suppliers of coal mine winders. His brother was also director of

Staveley Coal and Iron Company The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley, Derbyshire, Staveley, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, north Derbyshire. History The company was registered in 1863, appearing in provincial sto ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Markham and his wife Lady Lucy Markham nee Cunningham made their house near

available to the government for the accommodation of overseas officers and also purchased and sent aid packages to British

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in German hands. Lady Markham also nursed. Markham fought tirelessly against the recruitment of under age soldiers into the British Army during the war, and ultimately, these efforts contributed to his untimely death at the age of 49. Markham died of a heart attack on 5 August 1916 at

Newstead Abbey Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, was formerly an Augustinian priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. The Abbey is on the national ...

near

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

Family

His sister Violet Markham also stood as an

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description which candidates and politicians have used to describe themselves, designating them as liberals, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of their country. To avoid confusion with the Liberal Party of ...

for Mansfield at the 1918 general election. For her wartime services, Lady Markham was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1920 New Year Honours.

Legacy

On his death, his eldest son, Charles, became the 2nd Baronet Markham of

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

, East Africa.Markham family photographs
accessed 22 August 2008 After his death, his sister Violet arranged for an annual competition to be held in memory of her brother. The Arthur Markham Memorial Fund was used to give a prize for the best essay written by a manual worker on a subject chosen for that year. The competition had been chosen as both Markhams (Violet and Arthur) believed that there was untapped intelligence that needed to be rewarded.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markham, Arthur, 1st Baronet 1866 births 1916 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Rugby School UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 People from Brimington English philanthropists Markham family