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Bishop Monkton lies on the minor road from Markington to Roecliffe and Boroughbridge, about a mile east of its junction with the A61 Harrogate to Ripon Road. The village lies at the bottom of a shallow valley with a backdrop of woods to the north and south. The land around the village is slightly above the level of the River Ure a mile to the north and east. When entering the village from the A61 and proceeding along Hungate the scene is generally one of relatively modern suburban style houses. It is not until the junction with St John’s Road is reached that the full character of Bishop Monkton is revealed with the Beck and its grass margins becoming evident, together with a variety of older buildings. 

The historic core of the village takes a more or less linear form along Bishop Monkton Beck running from southwest of the village, which it bisects, to the northeast where it eventually finds its way into the Ure. For almost the whole of its length it is open to view, running alongside Main Street, St John’s Road and Boroughbridge Road. Virtually all buildings face onto the Beck
and adjacent highways and there is little development “in depth”. The margins of the Beck are generally attractively treated with grassed areas and mature trees. Halfway along its length the village core has an “island” where Main Street diverges from St John’s Road and creates a triangular site. The Beck takes a sharp bend as it passes through this site with a ford at its eastern corner.

The name Bishop Monkton derives from the Domesday Book (“Monechetune”) meaning the “Tun of the monks”. The exact reason for the name is not apparent but places called Monkton must once have belonged to (or been associated with) a monastery. In this case, it was to the Archbishop of York, though there are references to the monastic community of Ripon in AD 661. In 1086 there were only 11 residents.