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 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.
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