Community

The name, Micklefield, is derived from the Old English 'Micelfield', meaning 'Great Field'. The village is listed in a Royal Charter of 963 A.D., which makes Micklefield one of a very special set of Yorkshire townships with a recorded history older than the Doomsday Survey of 1086.

The small linear settlement of Old Micklefield was probably settled by the English around 620 A.D. Prior to this it lay in the British Kingdom of Elmet. Crop marks in the area, the proximity of the Roman Road and the enigmatic earthworks at Castle Hills suggest earlier settlement in the parish at least to Romano-British times, and possibly earlier.

The main road through the village was probably an ancient north/south trade route, though from Roman times it was superseded by the Ridge Road, which now forms the western boundary of the village. The main road regained its importance during the Tudor Era and became the Great North Road turnpike in 1741.

The Blands Arms public house (an important symbol of our village history) was an overnight stop for Scots cattle drovers taking their stock to market in London. The 'Scotsman' building where they rested still stands at the rear of the pub. The pub also honours the Blands family, Lords of the Manor from 1600 to the 1920s and sole landowners in Micklefield from 1750 to 1830.