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West Tanfield (#29 on map) is now a civil parish and a village in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately six miles north of Ripon on the A6108 road, which goes from Ripon to Masham and Wensleydale. The parish includes the hamlets of Nosterfield, Thornborough and Binsoe and had a population of 636 in the UK census of 2011.
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Tanefeld". The manor was owned by Thorkil at the time of the Norman invasion (1066), but was afterwards granted to Count Alan of Brittany. The manor was held by Hugh, son of Gernegan, and his heirs thereafter until at least 1243. One of these heirs, a woman named Avis or Avice had married Robert Marmion and held the manor in 1287. The Marmion family held the manor until 1387 when it passed to the next line of descent to the wife of Sir Henry FitzHugh. The FitzHugh family held the manor until 1513 when the direct line ended and it passed to another branch family, the Parrs. The Parrs held the manor until the death of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton in 1571. William was the brother of Catherine Parr, Queen consort to Henry VIII. The manor was passed back to the Crown at that time before being granted in 1572 to William Cecil, Lord Burghley. The manor was inherited by his son Thomas, Earl of Exeter and thence his son William who had no surviving son. The manor of Tanfield then passed to his second daughter whose second marriage was to Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin and 1st Earl of Ailesbury and who held the manor in 1676. It passed down the line of descent until 1738. It became the possession of Thomas Bruce Brudenell, who succeeded to the title as well. It remained with the family until 1886.
The village has a monument called the Marmion Tower, a 15th-century gatehouse which belonged to the now vanished manor house (home of the Marmion family) known as the "Hermitage". At first floor level there is an example of an oriel window. The tower is now in the care of English Heritage and is a Grade I listed building.
Prior to the nationwide municipal reorganization of 1974, West Tanfield was part of Bedale Rural District. Historically, it was an ancient and ecclesiastical parish in the wapentake of Halikeld.
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