Linton sits opposite Grassington, just south of the River Wharfe, at the entrance to the short side valley of Linton Beck (the watershed at the end of the valley is only two miles south west of Linton). The village is made up of a series of houses scattered around an irregular green, split in half by Linton Beck. Architecturally the village is dominated by Fountaine Hospital, founded in 1721 by Richard Fountaine, the timber merchant for the architect Sir John Vanbrugh. The hospital was one of the first classical buildings in the Dales,
During the medieval period many Dales villages shared a single church, but Linton is one of the few where that arrangement is still in place. The twelfth century church, half a mile north east of the village, on the banks of the Wharfe, is shared by Linton, Grassington, Threshfield and Hebden. Much of the church dates to the fifteenth century, but there are some Norman survivals. There is a public car park on the minor road that leads from the village to the church. Until 1866 Linton Church had two rectors. Linton had two lords of the manor, each with the right of advowson, or selecting a parson. Given that the church served four villages, this was probably a useful arrangement, but can’t have been without its stresses.
Linton Mill, between the village and the church, was built in 1788 by Robert Hargreaves of Addingham as a worsted-spinning mill. The original building was replaced by a five storey cotton mill in the mid nineteenth century, which burnt down in 1912. This was then replaced by a smaller mill, which survived as a going concern until 1959. The mill buildings were demolished in 1983, and houses now stand on the site.