The Crooked Billet @ Saxton
The tiny chapel of St Mary’s in Lead, some gallops, a castle, the site of the bloodiest battle in England and a pub famous for it’s Yorkshire puddings, this is an easy walk with a bit of history
Saturday 13th January 2024
A knights castle, the lost medieval hamlet of Lead, a hidden racecourse, the bloodiest battle this island has ever witnessed and a pub that made Yorkshire puddings its own. What better place to walk your dog on a crisp winter’s morning?
We crossed Cock Beck and headed across a boggy field to St Mary’s church, a tiny stone chapel dating back to the 11th century. The field surrounding this chapel housed the tiny hamlet of Lead, complete with crofts, tofts, barns and a wooden manorial complex. The Grand Old Duke of York’s son; Edward IV, stayed overnight in this hamlet the night before he led the Yorkists to victory over the Lancastrians on 29th March 1461. The battle of Towton was the bloodiest in English history; 20 men per minute were killed during the 10 hours of fighting which ended the war of the roses. 3 months later, the 19 year old, 6’4” Edward was crowned king of England.
After the battle Edward headed to Hazelwood Castle and helped himself to a few celebratory bottles of wine whilst the owners hid in their chapel. We followed Cock Beck east towards Aberford, turned north past some woods until we saw the Castle. Hidden behind the Castle is a private racecourse with all weather gallops.
The settlement of Hazelwood was owned by the first sheriff of Yorkshire. But after the Normans invaded in 1066 he was killed and replaced by a frenchman Mauger Vavasour. The Vavasour family took on this 15,000 acre estate and built the castle in 1283 living there until 1908, when it was sold by Sir William Vavasour, who then set up a vineyard in New Zealand. The catholic Vavasour family somehow avoided the castle being ransacked and destroyed by Henry VIII and Liz I instead Anne Vavasour became Liz’s lady in waiting. The castle has been home to Carmelite Friars, is the burial place of Margaret Clitheroe, has overseen 9,000 births as a maternity hospital and is now a relaxing 32 room SPA retreat.
Back through fields and farms to the Crooked Billet. Bizarrely, I recently had a game of darts in London with Mark, the son of the man who made giant Yorkshire Puddings famous here over 30 years ago.
See the route on Komoot http://tinyurl.com/Crooked-Billet-at-Saxton
If you have the appetite for a large Yorkshire Pudding meal this is your place. With amazing fillings you can have them rolled or just heaped full of meat and gravy. This pub is full of information about the Battle of Towton and has some great walks drawn on the walls near the door to the beer garden. You’ll get a warm welcome from the bar staff and the selection of beers is good too. All in all a great place to end a walk through the battlefields.
