Markenfield Hall

Markenfield Hall
Markenfield Hall, taken from the bridge over the moat, looking through the gatehouse

Markenfield Hall, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, is one of the finest surviving early fourteenth-century English country houses; it was built by John de Markenfield, an associate of Piers Gaveston and a servant of Edward II. A license to crenellate was issued for Markenfield in 1310, the same year that John was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. The house is an L-shaped castellated block, with a great hall that stands upon an undercroft and was originally reached by an exterior stone staircase. It is lit by two double-light windows with quatrefoil transom under their arched heads.

In 1569 Thomas de Markenfield was involved in the pro-Catholic Rising of the North and was forced to flee to the Continent. Markenfield was confiscated and granted to Thomas Egerton, Master of the Rolls. Egerton never made Markenfield his principal residence, and it devolved to a farmhouse, preserving many features.

Markenfield is now the seat of Lord Grantley.

The house is open for public tours during specific periods, and for groups by appointment.

References

  • Christopher Simon Sykes, Ancient English Houses 1240-1612 (London: Chatto & Windus) 1988.

External links

Coordinates: 54°06′06″N 1°33′04″W / 54.10161°N 1.55104°W / 54.10161; -1.55104


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