Rillington was mentioned in the Domesday Survey in 1086 and rural life was relatively unchanged until the coming of the railway in 1845.

The village has two pubs the Coach and Horses and The Fleece, both are located next to St Andrew's Church and the A64.

Rillington is on the A64 road, approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of Malton and south-west of Scarborough.

A regular Yorkshire Coastliner bus service providing connections to Scarborough, Malton, York and Leeds is operated by Transdev Blazefield.

From 1845 until 1930 the village was served by a railway station which connected Rillington on the York to Scarborough Line.