When 6th Lord Grantley wrote his autobiography The Silver Spoon back in 1954, nothing was out of bounds – the book is both hilarous and outrageous – and touches on Mary Queen of Scots (less than flattering), his family (eye opening) and his University antics (incendiary – literally). But it is his recollections from theContinue reading “Coronation Chaos”
Category Archives: History
I bequeath thee a… what?!
Following swift on the heels of the news that Robert Markenfield may have prepared the way for one of ‘the Princes in the Tower’ to move to Devon, where he may have lived out his life in relative obscurity, came another fabulous find. This research, carried out on the cusp of the new year byContinue reading “I bequeath thee a… what?!”
Richard III, John Evans and Robert Markenfield
Who? You may ask. We certainly did. Richard III is a famous, some may say infamous, name in this country; but John Evans and Robert Markenfield are somewhat more enigmatic. Robert wasn’t even mentioned in history books, and nothing was known of him save that he died without progeny. But that all changed on 28Continue reading “Richard III, John Evans and Robert Markenfield”
The Grantleys of… Brimham Rocks?
A Blog post by our Volunteer Archivist Janet Senior Cataloguing documents at Markenfield Hall brings me into contact with many fascinating items. A few weeks ago I discovered papers relating to the sale by the 5th Lord Grantley of the Brimham Rocks Estate. This was an astonishing find for me as I had no ideaContinue reading “The Grantleys of… Brimham Rocks?”
Medieval Monday: The Gatehouse Arch
Markenfield is proud to be a member of Historic Houses – an organisation that supports and represents privately owned historic houses across the UK. Each Monday they set a medieval theme for their members to discuss, and this week the theme is arches. There is perhaps no more-iconic view of Markenfield than the one throughContinue reading “Medieval Monday: The Gatehouse Arch”
If we remove the ceiling…
We all know that Markenfield has its quirks – and its challenges – but who could have guessed that they might actually have built the house around a door! Known as The Dogs’ Entrance (or Dog’s Entrance depending on how many are in residence at the time) the wooden double doors leading out on toContinue reading “If we remove the ceiling…”
79 boxes
“A Mr Johnson of Ripon removed from Markenfield 79 boxes of evidence, 1 little coffer and 2 littell bagges by commission (and to deliver) the same into the Exchequer” circa. 1601 Markenfield is a house of may mysteries, but perhaps the most prevailing – and most vital in its history – is the mystery ofContinue reading “79 boxes”
Seek and ye shall find…
Research can be a thankless task – especially online. You can spend hours looking through lists of searches containing the word Markenfield (now bear in mind the the Archive & Research Group have identified over 16 possible spellings of Markenfield over the years) and some days the most exciting thing that pops up is aContinue reading “Seek and ye shall find…”
The tattooed Pilgrim…?
It’s amazing how sometimes little snippets of information fall into your lap – watching the news last week there was an article about the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, and a new exhibition on tattoos that they were putting on. The article itself was fascinating – and further information on the exhibition can be foundContinue reading “The tattooed Pilgrim…?”
We have a moat 