Markington is a small village in the Harrogate District of North Yorkshire, situated just off the A61 between Ripon and Harrogate. Five miles from Ripon, eight miles from Harrogate and two and a half miles from Fountains Abbey, with a population of approximately seven hundred, Markington has a church (St. Michael the Archangel) dating back to 1844 , one public houses (the Yorkshire Hussars), a caravan park, post office/general store and a village hall.
Markington has also been home to the Yorkshire Riding Centre for 50 years, one of Britain’s most renowned equestrian centres.
Evidence of a settlement dating back to the bronze age (approx. 1000BC) can be found behind Poplar Terrace where a round barrow tomb exists to this day.
Mention was made of the village in 937AD, where a mill was recorded as church property at ‘Mercinga-tun’.
By 1086 the name had moved closer to the current pronunciation, being known as Merchintone, and by 1303 it had become the much more familiar sounding ‘Markenton’.
The village is the location of Markington Hall, where the Wilberforce family live and which has been in their family since 1730. Markington was part of the Ingerthorpe Estate and in 1309, Henry De Markington lived at the Hall as Lord of Markington, however this earlier hall was replaced at some point during the Tudor era (1485-1603).