The village lies 3.7 miles (6 km) north north-west of the county town of Northallerton.

Originally it had passed to the lords of Richmond, who had granted hereditary lordship to Geoffrey le Scrope.

However the Crown retook possession upon learning the conditions of inheritance and granted it back to the lords of Richmond in 1342.

The manor was leased to Robert Dawe and Edward Thurland in 1602, but in 1616 King James I granted the manor of Danby Wiske to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, founder of the state of Maryland in the United States.

The Calverts sold the manor in 1701 after which it changed hands a couple of times until in 1718 it was bought by Sir Hugh Smithson.

By 1857, the manor was in the possession of the Venerable Archdeacon Cust[3][4][5] Danby Wiske is around ¼ mile from the East Coast Main Line; there was once a railway station here, but this has long since closed.

[6] The ancient parish of Danby Wiske included Yafforth as well as Streetlam, but not Lazenby.

It is approximately 2 hectares (4.9 acres) in size with several distinct raised features including evidence that a channel existed between the site and the River Wiske.

The religious make-up was 72.7% Christian, a small Buddhist minority with the rest stating no religion.

There is a Village Hall, built in 1978 and extended in 2010, which is used for fundraising, community activities and social functions.