Lazencastle Wood (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Lasen Castle; Lazon; Glasson Leyson; Laysin

In the civil parish of Carlatton.
In the historic county of Cumberland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Cumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY51505338
Latitude 54.87283° Longitude -2.75729°

Lazencastle Wood has been described as a Timber Castle but is rejected as such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

(Area NY 512532) Lazen Castle (Private 1" W G Collingwood undated). Lazon Castle, shown on the map of Hayton Manor AD 1710, is a steep hill overgrown with trees; it exhibits no traces of foundations or earthworks. Graham suggests that it may have been a castle in name only, that is, a natural vantage point used by the local herdsmen when surprised by Scottish raiders.
Mention is made of Lasen Castle in an AD 1613 description of Carlatton bounds. Colingwood, under mottes, mentions Laxon Castle, with the comment, 'no remains known', he gives Graham as a sub-reference. A small steep-sided hillock at NY 51505338 is the natural site for a vantage point or a defensive work. Recent afforestation, however, precluded any close inspection, but the narrowness of the summit makes it unlikely that a castle ever existed. (PastScape)

Comments

Supposed possible motte. Rejected by Jackson as natural hill. Record of place name Lasen Castle in 1613. Looks like prominent natural hill on map, not a manorial centre and of little strategic value.
Is this site so isolated that one wonders if the name is a corruption of lazar and that it was a place of retreat used by lepers (a term that, in medieval use, meant people with many disfiguring diseases - not just Hansen Disease) although Graham's suggestion of a more general place of retreat in troubled times is a valid one.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 12579.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 577.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 163
  Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carlisle: Carel Press)
Periodical Articles
- Collingwood, W.G., 1923, 'An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Cumberland' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 23 p. 216 online copy
  Graham, T.H.B., 1920, 'Carlatton' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 20 p. 25 online copy
  Graham, T.H.B., 1912, 'Extinct Cumberland Castles (Part IV)' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 12 p. 200 online copy
  Graham, T.H.B., 1907, 'An old Map of Hayton Manor' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 7 p. 43 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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