Markyate

Markyate is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire close to the border with Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Geography
Having a number of former names, including Markyate Street and Mergyate, it has been a part of all three counties since it was first founded as the county boundaries have changed over the years. At one point the boundary was the line of the main road itself; Hertfordshire to the east and Bedfordshire to the west. Markyate is located close to the source of the River Ver which has occasionally flooded the centre of the village, though the watercourse is often dry during parts of the year.

Part of the Dacorum Borough Council district (centred on Hemel Hempstead), it has Luton (01582) phone numbers and a St Albans postal code (AL3) although Dunstable is the nearest town. Although historically a rural and agricultural area it is now a dormitory village for Luton and the surrounding region as it also lies a short distance from the M1 motorway.

Lying on Watling Street, the Roman road (now the A5), between St Albans and Dunstable it was a major coaching stop on the highway from London to Birmingham, at one point having over forty inns and public houses along its main road, and the village was one of the earliest sites of the Pickfords transport service, one road out of the village being named Pickford Road. During the twelfth century Christina of Markyate was the Prioress of a Benedictine community in the area.

The village lies near the junction of the A5 and the B4540 (for Luton and Caddington). A bypass for the A5 was constructed to the east of the village in 1955. South along the A5 is Flamstead and junction 9 of the M1.

History
Initially two adjacent hamlets &mdash; Markyate and Humbershoe &mdash; separated by the road towards Berhamstead, slow expansion melded them into the current village area, though most growth since the 1950s has been by in-filling with new housing in what was the gap between the old A5 High Street and the new A5 Markyate by-pass.

The Gainsborough film The Wicked Lady was based on events surrounding the life of Lady Katherine Ferrers &mdash; the wife of the major landowner in the area &mdash; at Markyate Cell. Parts of the film The Dirty Dozen were also filmed in the village and surrounding area, the stockade being built in the grounds of a local preparatory school.

Facilities
The village presently has an amateur football team named Markyate Football Club.

From its height in the coaching era of over 50 inns and public houses, the remaining village pubs are the Plume of Feathers, The Sun, The Swan and The Red Lion. The White Hart closed in 2005 and is now a private residence. The Red Lion became another casualty due to the lack of large pub company support for small community pubs and closed at the end of 2009. It has subsequently been sold freehold and is currently being renovated and turned into a private dwelling. The Sun is a going concern and the lease is currently for sale.

Notable residents

 * William Cowper, who was sent to boarding school here between the ages of four and eight years old.
 * Chris White, bass player and songwriter of The Zombies rock group, grew up in the village, where his parents owned a grocery store.