SE2967 : Markenfield Hall - chapel interior (1)
taken 6 years ago, near to Markington, North Yorkshire, England
The first mention of the Hall comes in the Domesday Book of 1086 and a house in one form or another has stood on the site to this day. The earliest part of today’s house was built around 1230, pre-1310 very little is known. King Edward II granted the License to Crenelate on 28th February 1310, when the present house began to take shape. In 1761 the Hall was bought by lawyer and MP Fletcher Norton, who went on to become Solicitor General although he never lived in the house. When he bought Markenfield Hall it was in a poor condition, with the Great Hall being partly open to the elements. He re-roofed, making it water-tight once more and in doing so saved the Hall from ruin. When elevated to the peerage he took the title Lord Grantley of Markenfield; which it remains to this day. The Hall passed through subsequent generations of Lords Grantley, none of who ever lived at the Hall and it continued in its role of Tenanted Farmhouse until the 1980s when 7th Lord Grantley, together with Lady Grantley, began a programme of restoration that would see the house returned to some of its former glory and a family home once more.