Marske, west North Yorkshire

Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Marske is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, situated in lower Swaledale on the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the village is approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Richmond. According to the UK 2011 Census, the population of the parish of Marske, including New Forest was 127. The parish includes the hamlets of Applegarth, Clints, Feldom and Skelton.

The Church of St Edmund King and Martyr dates back to the 12th century. In 1870 72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Marske as:"A village and a parish in Richmond district, N. R. Yorkshire. The village stands on the rivulet Marske, a little above its inflnx to the Swale, 5½ miles W of Richmond r. station; and has a post office under Richmond, Yorkshire. The parish contains also the hamlets of Feldon and Skelton, and comprises 6,557 acres."

Marske was long associated with the Hutton family, landowners and High Sheriffs of Yorkshire. Matthew Hutton, the archbishop of Canterbury, was born in Marske. Marske Hall, on the outskirts of the village, was bought in 1596 by the then Archbishop of York, Matthew Hutton. Initial work on the hall was started by Matthew's son, Timothy, and after a remodelling in the 1730s, a stable block was added in 1750 by John Hutton II, the son of the former member of parliament for Richmond bearing the same name, whose racehorse Marske was best known for siring the undefeated Eclipse. The ornamental gardens were added in 1836, and the grounds, as well as the stables remain separated from the hall by a road providing access to the village. During the Second World War, the hall was used to house pupils from Scarborough College. In the 1960s the estate was sold to local builder George Shaw and converted into ten apartments, however the mansion was put on the market in 2012 for the sum of £2.5 million. building into 20 holiday lets.

The civil parish now shares a grouped parish council with the civil parish of New Forest, known as Marske & New Forest Parish Council. The village lies within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which is under the control of the Conservative Party. The current Member of Parliament, since the 2015 general election, is Rishi Sunak. Marske is part of the Richmondshire District Council electoral ward of Lower Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.