Markenfield Hall, near Ripon

Ripon

Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, is one of the finest surviving early fourteenth-century English country house

English country house

The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...

s; it was built by John de Markenfield, an associate of Piers Gaveston

Piers Gaveston

Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...

 and a servant of Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

. A license to crenellate was issued for Markenfield in 1310, the same year that John was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

. The house is an L-shaped castellated block, with a great hall

Great hall

A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...

 that stands upon an undercroft

Undercroft

An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...

 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

Rising of the North

The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...

 and was forced to flee to the Continent. Markenfield was confiscated and granted to Thomas Egerton

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley PC was an English Nobleman, Judge and Statesman who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-one years.-Early life, education and legal career:...

, Master of the Rolls

Master of the Rolls

The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...

. Egerton never made Markenfield his principal residence, and it devolved to a farmhouse, preserving many features.

Markenfield is now the seat of Lord Grantley

Baron Grantley

Lord Grantley, Baron of Markenfield, in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1782 for Sir Fletcher Norton, Attorney General from 1763 to 1765 and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1770 to 1780. His son, the second Baron, was also a politician and...

.

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

External links

• Markenfield Hall website