Aspects of Markenfield 3: The Parish of Markenfield Hall by Dr Brian Crosse, Timothy Knight and David Rhodes

Description

The Parish of Markenfield Hall is a most unusual parish, partly on account of its unique 14th century moated hall and also because, over the centuries, the parish has remained small, its boundaries almost identical with those of the estate. Unlike surrounding parishes, no hamlet or village has grown up around the hall. Through the ages the name has changed from Merchefeld to Markenfield with the main variants being Merchingfeld, Merkingfeld, Markynfeld, Merkyngefelde, Markinfeild and Markingefeild. In addition, it has been a manor, parke, mannor, hall and today it is the Parish of Markenfield Hall.

The parish has at present only five registered adult residents, in a total of five dwellings with a potential of perhaps ten voters. Needless to say it does not have the population for a Parish Council but does have Parish Meetings twice a year. It might have been so different had the Reformation not dissolved the adjoining Fountains Abbey or had the nearby mediaeval village of Aismunderby not been deserted, possibly due to the plague…