Markenfield Hall

Markenfield Hall is one of the most complete moated medieval manor houses in England, and it is still lived in. John de Markenfield built the core of it around 1300 and had a licence to crenellate in 1310, and the moat, the gatehouse and the hall behind them still stand around a house that is lived in today. Its best story comes from 1569. On 20 November that year the courtyard was the gathering point for the Rising of the North. After the rising, Sir Thomas Markenfield fled abroad and the Crown took the estate. Fletcher Norton, later the first Baron Grantley, bought it in 1761, and it has been the Grantley family's home ever since.

Because it is a home, you see it only on a guided tour, on a limited number of weekday mornings between April and October. Plan it a few weeks ahead around a published date. It suits adults with an interest in medieval buildings and Tudor history best.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, take the A61 south west to Ripon, about 25 to 30 minutes, then carry on through the city and south on the A61 towards Harrogate. The entrance to the drive is off the A61 about three miles beyond Ripon. Allow around 35 minutes in all, and add time for Ripon's traffic on a market day, since tours start promptly at 11am. The postcode is HG4 3AD, and the hall's what3words is otherwise.takeovers.slider if the postcode puts you on the wrong lane.

The tour begins in the car park, where a volunteer guide meets the group, so drive straight there and wait to be collected. If you are coming by bus, go via Ripon and confirm the onward connection south before you rely on it.

The visit is the tour. Your guide meets you in the car park, takes you in through the Tudor gatehouse and over the moat, and then through the main rooms of the house: the Undercroft, then up a wide staircase to the Great Hall, the Chapel and the four-poster room. Each tour has its own volunteer guide, and the hall sometimes adds displays on historical themes, which it announces on its website and social media. The tour lasts about 90 minutes and involves some walking and stairs, with seating in the Undercroft, Great Hall and Chapel.

Historic Houses members have their own free tours, usually on the second Wednesday morning of each month from May to October. Groups can arrange a visit at other times by contacting the hall.

The moat and gatehouse are the first thing you see and the image that stays with you: a medieval defence still wrapped around a house that people live in. Inside, the Great Hall and the Chapel are the rooms the tour builds towards, and the guide fills in who built them and how they were used. The courtyard carries the Rising of the North: this is where the rebels gathered in 1569, in a rising that cost the Markenfields their home. Each group has its own volunteer guide, so you hear that story standing in the place it happened and can ask questions as you go.

Book early. Tours are capped, run on a limited number of mornings, and can be cancelled if too few people book; if that happens the hall contacts you and tries to move you to another date. Do not set off without a ticket, as the hall cannot let in anyone who arrives without one. Wear flat, comfortable shoes for the gravel and the stairs. Check the access statement on the hall's website before booking if anyone in your party has limited mobility. The tour ends around 12:30, which leaves the afternoon free: Ripon and its museums are three miles back up the A61, and Fountains Abbey is a few miles west. Dates for 2027 had not been published by November 2026, so keep an eye on the website from early spring.