Middleton Quernhow is a settlement and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is very near the A1 road and about 4 miles north of Ripon. Quernhow, which has also been spelled Whernhowe and Whernou means mill-hill, the first element deriving from the Old Norse kvern meaning a mill stone. How or Howe, deriving from the Old Norse word haugr meaning a hill, is a common element in Yorkshire place name.