The settlement "retains a village hall, two public houses and a shop but there is no longer a post office.

The C of E website in early 2021 states "it is mentioned in the Domesday Book and parts of St Agatha’s date back to this period".

[5][6] The 2018 archeological report adds specifics about St Agatha's: "a number of pre-Conquest carved stones and a medieval grave cover" were discovered here.

"[7] St Agatha's Church features a monument to Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock (1862-1914), who was born in the parish, at Hartforth.

In the 7th century it was a seat of the Deira in the southern region of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, and from the 9th century, the surrounding area known as Gillingshire was ruled by the Earls of Mercia, specifically Edwin, who was the last of the Earls to have a seat of power at Gilling before the Norman Conquest saw Edwin's lands given to William the Conqueror's kinsman, Alan Rufus.

[7] The sword was found by nine-year-old Garry Fridd in the beck while playing close to the bridge in Gilling.

[12] The present house was designed by John Carr, and its grounds were laid out in the 18th century by William Sawrey Gilpin.

[15] The village lies within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which has been under the control of the Conservative Party for more than a century.

The current Member of Parliament, since the 2015 general election, is Rishi Sunak, the constituency's previous incumbent being William Hague.

[20] Education for the children of the village is provided by three primary schools in nearby Richmond (CE, Methodist and St Mary's).