dike, of Harrington, in Lincolnshire. This Thomas Thurland, son of Richard, who at this time inherited the vast estates of his late uncle, was afterwards knighted. Sir Thomas married Joan, daughter of Thomas Willoughby, esq., of Willoughby, and was living in the 7th Henry VIII. By his marriage he had one son, Thomas, and two daughters, Jane and Phillippa. Jane married to Sir John Durham, Knt., and Phillippa, married to Gabriel Armstrong, esq., of Thorpe, near Wysall. This Thomas Thurland, son of the late Sir Thomas, appears to have been a profligate, and in a short time, dissipated nearly the whole of his very ample fortune. He sold Gamston and his other estates near East Retford, in the latter part of the reign of Henry the VIII. to Thos. Markham, esq., son of Sir John Markham, of Cotham, also Thurland Hall in Nottingham, ("where once lived Thomas Thuriand the great merchant of the staple, and thereby the raiser of that family." See Throsby, Vol. III. p. 256. One of the daughters of this Thomas Thurland was married to Thomas Fairfax.

His third son Gervas, (the only one of whom we have any account) was a merchant of considerable note in London, where he died, 1577. He left a son Edward, who married a daughter of Richard Ellyott, esq., of Reigate, in Surrey. His third son Edward, eventually became heir to his father's property, and that of the Ellyott's by his wife. He was knighted by Charles II., and was one of the barons of the Exchequer. Sir Edward died, 1662, leaving his son Edward Thurland, esq. his heir, who was living in Surrey, in the reign of Queen Anne, and had the presentation to the living in Reigate, in 1708.

"The first Thomas Thurland had a sister married to Robert Danby, of Farnley, in Yorkshire. Their father was Edmund Thurland, who was a resident in Nottingham in 1399, and 1st of Edward ĮV."

It is not improbable the large and stately mansion in which King James I., attended by his court, and took up their temporary abode, was erected by John Hollis, esq.

Concerning this family, our invaluable friend before referred to, to whom we have been so frequently indebted, informs us, Thomas Markham, who purchased the estates of the Thurlands, was the son of Sir John Markham, of Cotham, by Anne, his second wife, who was the daughter and co-heiress of John Strelley, esq. The Markhams had for ages been seated in Nottinghamshire. This Thomas represented Nottinghamshire in parliament, 1553, after his purchase of the Thurland's property here; he was standard bearer to Queen Elizabeth's band of gentlemen pensioners, married Mary, daughter and heiress of Rice Griffin, esq. of Dingley,

and had a numerous family; he appears to have been ruined in some great electioneering disputes with the Earl of Shrewsbury, respecting his contest for the county of Nottingham in 1592, when he and Sir Thomas Stanhope opposed Sir Charles Cavendish and Mr. Philip Strelley, the people were so numerous and so turbulent that it was found necessary to adjourn the poll at the County hall, and open it at the Court of the Castle, for Sir Thomas Stanhope brought all his tenants and their servants armed to the town, for the express purpose of fighting it out: the contest was a severe one, and Stanhope and Markham were defeated. The Earl of Shrewsbury was the confidential agent of government for managing the elections of the Midland Counties, and he had married a Cavendish. This seems to have been a closer for Mr. Markham, as the estates immediately passed, by sale, into the possession of the Hollis family and some others. The Hollis's were seated at Haughton so early as 1540, and was bought of John Babbington, by either Sir William, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1539, or his son William. The Markham's estates were principally purchased by Sir John Hollis.

The eldest son of Sir Thomas Markham, esq. was Griffin Markham, esq., who early betook himself to a military life; when very young he was with the Farl of Essex in his different undertakings, and was knighted for his bravery at the siege of Rouen in 1591, and was afterwards with the same commander in all his enterprises, and at the death of Elizabeth, had a regiment. On the accession of James the First in 1603, he being a catholic, it was thought proper to implicate him with William Watson and William Clarke, two priests, and several others in a design to get possession of the new king, and take him prisoner; to seize the Tower or Dover Castle, and there to place his majesty till he had assented to the following articles. First, a general pardon for all those concerned in the plot. Secondly, to grant a toleration of the Catholic religion, and lastly, to alter several of the officers of state, and that Watson, the priest, should be the Lord Chancellor, Mr. George Brooke, one of the conspirators, to be Lord Treasurer, Sir Griffin Markham, principal Secretary of State, the Lord Grey, (a Protestant) Earl Marshall of England and Master of the Horse. For this mighty design, Watson and Sir Griffin were to find three hundred men!!! For this conspiracy, if it really could be called one, they were tried at Winchester, in November, 1602, and condemned to die. Watson and Clarke, the two priests, were executed in the most cruel manner, being both cut down from the gallows alive and quartered, Clarke made resistance, and spake after he was cut down. Brooke was beheaded, Lord Grey and

Sir Griffin were brought to the scaffold, Sir Griffin took leave of his friends and betook himself to his devotions; on a napkin being offered to him to hide his face during the execution, he threw it away, saying he could look upon death without blushing for what he had done; however, a reprieve arrived, principally through the instrumentality of the Earl of Shrewsbury, his father's old opponent and Sir Griffin, and several others were banished the realm for life. Sir Griffin was brought twice upon the platform, having an interval of two hours for reflection before his reprieve was communicated to him.

Thomas Thurland, who had sold his paternal estates to Thomas Markham, (p. 732), retired with his large family to a small estate he had in the neighbourhood of London, where he died in private life.

Sir Thos. Markham was married twice, his latter wife was relict of Thos. Stanhope, and one of the sisters and co-heiresses of J. Strelley, esq., of Strelley, near Nottingham. The estate of Haughton afterward became the inheritance of the right honourable the Earl of Clare, as did also Thurland hall, (an engraving of which we have given) which was a subsequent erection, and from its Elizabethan style of architecture, was then a new building, (probably on the site of the old one). It had spacious lofty rooms, with adjacent pleasure grounds, gardens, orchards, and out-buildings, admirably adapted for the residence of a large family of the first rank, and for magnificence and splendour, was second only to the castle. As this hall never was the property of the Pierreponts, whose family mansion was south of the Grammar-school, in Stoneystreet, in attributing its erection to Francis Pierrepont, third son of Robert, Earl of Kingstone, Mr. Throsby must have been wrong. It was, however, the property of Sir John Hollis, at the time King James I. took up his temporary abode in it, instead of the castle, as had formerly been the custom of our sovereigns, and it is very probable it was rebuilt by that gentleman, who was created Baron Houghton, of Houghton, in this county, 1616, at the time of the king's third visit, and when his majesty in 1624, paid his last visit to Nottingham, he was created Earl of Clare.

It appears the manor of Haughton came in the possession of the Hollis's, by purchase of John Babbington, who inherited by right of his wife Saunchia, daughter and heir of Richard Stanhope.

Sir William Hollis and the Lady Elizabeth, his wife, sister of Thomas Scopeham, mentioned by Mr. Dugdale, in his book of Warwickshire, at Coventry Cross. Thoroton takes to be the parents of this William Hollis the younger, who, from his gentleness and beneficence, was styled "the good Sir William." He married Ann, the daughter and heir of John Denzil, of Cornwall, Sergeant at Law, by whom he had two sons, Denzil and Gervas. The latter married Frances, daughter and heir of Peter Frechevile, of Staveley, near Chesterfield, by Elizabeth, wife of P. Frechevile, and mother of Frances, now wife of Gervas Hollis, was only daughter of "the gentle Sir Gervas Clifton," and Mary his wife, daughter of Sir John Nevill. By his marriage, Gervas Hollis had a son, Frechevile Hollis, who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Kingstone, of Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, by whom he had a son Gervas Hollis, one of his majesty's Masters of Requests. He was a great lover of antiquities. This Gervas had a son Frechevile Hollis, who entered the navy, lost an arm at the Dutch war at sea, and afterwards his life in defence of his country, he left no issue, and this branch of the family became extinct. Denzil Hollis, the elder brother of Gervas, and son of the good Sir William, married Eleanor, daughter of Edmund Sheffield, of Butterwick, and by her had Sir John Hollis, created by James I. "Baron of Houghton," 9th July, 14th of his reign, 1616. Sir John Hollis was one of the gentleman pensioners under Queen Elizabeth, and afterward of King James I. His salary as Comptroller to the Prince was £72 with board, wages, and diet. John was highly esteemed by the king, who once visited his house at Houghton, where he entertained his majesty several days, and was created then Earl of Clare. He married Ann, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanhope, who bore him two sons, John, afterward the Earl of Clare, who, as we have seen, was imprisoned for his patriotism, and Denzil Hollis, who was equally ardent in his

Sir

country's cause. Denzil married Dorothy, daughter and sole heiress of Sir Francis Ashly, Knt., of Dorchester, Sergeant at Law. By her he had issue William, &c. He was created "Lord Hollis, of Isfeild, in Sussex," his eldest brother John, afterward Earl of Clare, married Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir Horatio Vere, Lord Vere, of Tilbury, and by her he had Gilbert, who married a daughter of the Hon. William Pierrepoint. In the long parliament which met 3rd November, 1640, instead of Gardiner, the Recorder of London, the man of the king's choice, Lenthall, a practising barrister, was hastily elected Speaker, and the choice approved by Charles in ignorance of the man. Hampden, Pym, St. John, and Denzil Hollis, again took their seats in the house. On the 7th measures were taken to put down the Star chamber, on the 18th December, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, was proceeded against; he was accused in the name of the house and of all the commons of England of high treason, and a message to the lords, desiring he might be sequestered from parliament and committed, was carried to the peers by Denzil Hollis, and the Archbishop was committed. In the spring of next year, the king formed a plan of concession, appointing Lord Saye, Master of the Wards; Mr. Pym, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Mr. Hampden, Tutor to the Prince; and Mr. Hollis, Secretary of State!! but the appointments were never actually made, except in the case of Lord Saye, but he threw up his high office, when the king declared himself for civil war, by retiring to Oxford.

The select and secret committee to consider the informations against the Earl of Strafford, then in the Tower on a charge of high treason, consisted of Pym, Hampden, Lord Digby, Strode, Sir Walter, Earl Selden, St. John, Maynard, Palmer, Glynne, Whitelocke, and Denzil Hollis, and when the king, summoning the commons before him, interfered to save the life of Strafford, the commons testified their discontent and sent up their resolution to the House of Lords by the hands of Denzil Hollis, who, in delivering his message, told their lordships, "that parliament and the country were absolutely surrounded by plots and dangers-that justice was obstructed that the same evil counsels which first raised the storm and almost shipwrecked the commonwealth, still continued to blow strong, like the east wind that brought the locusts over the land, that it was time they should unite and concentrate themselves to defeat the counsels of these achitophels that would involve their religion, their king, their laws, their liberties, all that would be near and dear to an honest soul, in one universal desolation."

Denzil Hollis was also one of the managers in a conference with