Hazlewood Castle

Hazlewood Castle is a country residence, now a hotel, situated in North Yorkshire, England by the A1 and A64 between Aberford and Tadcaster.

The site overlooked the battlefield for the Battle of Towton in 1461, and during the persecution of Catholics through the reign of Henry VIII provided refuge for Catholic priests.

The first records of the house are to be found in the Domesday Book, described as being owned and occupied by Sir Mauger the Vavasour (a vavasour is a type of sub-tenant). Hazlewood was then inhabited by descendants of the Vavasours for over 900 years. During the Second Barons' War (1264–1267) the house was burnt down by a rival branch of the Vavasour family. It was rebuilt in 1283 by Sir William Vavasour and in 1290 fortified and crennelated.

In 1217 Robert Vavasour was Sheriff of York and his statue was placed above the door of York Cathedral in recognition of the fact that he gave stone from his Tadcaster quarry to maintain the cathedral.

Sir William Vavasour was High Sheriff of Yorkshire for 1548 and 1563 and MP for Yorkshire in 1553. His son John Vavasour was host to Mary, Queen of Scots on the night of 27 January 1569, when she passed through Wetherby en-route between Bolton Castle and Tutbury Castle.

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