Aspects of Markenfield 7: Forgotten Shrines

MARKENFIELD HALL AND  THE RISING OF THE NORTH

SURELY one of the most romantic houses left in England! This is the thought that first strikes the mind of the pilgrim who is fortunate enough to discover Markenfield Hall. And if as he gazes upon this grey pile of buildings already “an ancient house” in the days of Elizabeth he is able to recall the stirring story of its past, he is thrilled yet more with the sense of its romance. This splendid old pile, built in purest fourteenth-century Gothic of the time of the Third Edward, enlarged by its lords in the two following centuries, but happily untouched since then, stands as a monument of heroic deeds and knightly prowess. From its stately gateway mail-clad warriors passed forth to fight at Agincourt and Flodden, and in less happy days it was here that faithful hearts planned the desperate attempt to rise in arms for “God, Our Lady and the Catholic Faith,” against the persecuting violence of heretical power. The great court-yard, now so peaceful and deserted, was once filled with armed men, each with a crucifix hanging on his breast, and a red cross upon his arm, grouped beneath the banner of the Five Wounds of Christ…

Written by Dom Bede Camm in 1910 as part of his book Forgotten Shrines, this work recounts the Rising of the North and the downfall of the once-great Markenfield family.