Markfield is an English village in the East Midlands county of Leicestershire. The landscape of the village is characterised by outcrops of hard igneous rock emerging from the ground along with cottages and walls made from the local granite stone. The village of Markfield has a long and interesting history. It was recorded in the Domesday Book which was published in the year 1086 as a record of all the land and property in England and some of Wales. The Domesday Book was researched for William the Conqueror when he was the King of England so that he could collect taxes with greater efficiency.

The village of Markfield is situated on the hilly area called Markfield Knoll, the village is one of the highest in the county of Leicestershire, with excellent views of the surrounding countryside. During the seventeenth century Markfield was an agricultural community that focused on farming, and the various occupations, crafts and trades that were practised in the village were related to the growing and processing of agricultural produce.

By the year 1800 the population of the village of Markfield was around six hundred, and the agricultural activities were supplemented with an emerging textile industry. There were around a hundred textile processors in the village of Markfield who produced different types of textiles using wooden knitting frames. These knitting frames were usually operated in people's houses, although sometimes they would be situated in a dedicated industrial building. The textiles that these crafts people produced were used to create cloaks, hats, stockings and clothes of various types. They used different grades and colours of material to produce these items in large quantities. In addition to knitters, the village of Markfield had other crafts and activities being carried out to benefit the local community.

Markfield in the year 1800 had a school house where the children of the village were educated, as it does today, although these days the school looks very different and the methods of teaching are more advanced in many ways. The other crafts being carried out included a mason who worked the stone for the buildings in the area. There was also a blacksmith who supplied all the different types of ironwork for the village. A carpenter provided wood working to assist with houses, carts and fences that either needed building or mending. The millwright operated the mill where he would produce flour by milling wheat grains between two large stones. The millwright would supply sacks of flour to the baker who baked bread and cakes from the flour produced by the mill that he operated. A brewer would create ale from the processing of hops, with the help of yeast and sugar.

All of these hard workers will have required copious refreshment, and there were no less than six licensed premises in the village of Markfield in the year 1800. These licensed premises would have been inns, taverns and guest houses. By the year 1813 the village or Markfield had ninety nine houses of which eleven has a stable for housing horses.