Markyate is close to the source of the River Ver, which has occasionally flooded the centre of the village, though the watercourse is often dry during parts of the year.

Markyate forms part of the borough of Dacorum (administered from Hemel Hempstead), but has Luton (01582) phone numbers and a St Albans postal code (AL3).

Although historically a rural and agricultural area, it is now a dormitory village for Luton and the surrounding region, as it is a short distance from junction 9 of the M1 motorway.

Markyate lies on the Roman road of Watling Street, approximately halfway between St Albans and Dunstable.

[5][6] An ecclesiastical parish was created on 30 October 1877, called "St John Markyate Street", covering parts of the parishes of Caddington, Flamstead, Studham (Humbershoe) and an exclave of Houghton Regis known as Buckwood Stubbs, which was a rural area to the north-west of the village.

[10][11] Proposals to change the civil boundaries to match the ecclesiastical parish were put forward in 1888, but not implemented at that time.

[13] Eventually it was decided to place the new civil parish in Hemel Hempstead Rural District in Hertfordshire.

Beechwood Park lent its name to a song by the Zombies, written by the group's bassist Chris White.

[19] The parish church of St John Markyate dates from the 18th century, and retains some round-arched windows from that time.

St John's is home to a worshipping community of the Church of England and is part of the united parish of Flamstead and Markyate.

The White Hart closed in the early 1970s, followed by the Red Lion at the end of 2009 and Sun Inn in 2014, all of which became private dwellings.