Hazelwood Hall, sometimes spelt Hazlewood, is a nineteenth-century

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

set in 18.5 acres of woodland and gardens in the village of

Silverdale, Lancashire Silverdale is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England. The village stands on Morecambe Bay, near the border with Cumbria, north west of Carnforth and of Lancaster. The parish had a population ...

, England, north of Lancaster. The building was converted into holiday flats in 2006.

History

A planning application in 2009 stated that the house was built "in the first half of the nineteenth century, that it is thought to have been designed by George Webster, and that "It is not listed, but is of some architectural interest". It is in the

Arnside and Silverdale Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest AONBs, it covers 29 square miles (75 km2) between the Kent Estuary, the Ri ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

(AONB). A report on the AONB notes Hazelwood as one of "six ites in the AONBthat may be considered to be of national or international significance". The Sustainability Appraisal Report for the AONB describes it as one of the "Historic designed landscapes" in the area which are "of exceptional interest and quality ndcompare favourably with those on

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

’s National Register of Parks and Gardens. Much of the land around Hazelwood Hall is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The garden was designed by

Thomas Mawson Thomas Hayton Mawson (5 May 1861 – 14 November 1933), known as T. H. Mawson, was a British garden designer, landscape architect, and town planner. Personal life Mawson was born in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, and left school at age 12. H ...

and his son,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. In the 1920s the house and grounds were rented to the Carrington family, who bought it in 1945. The artist

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement of ...

used to visit her relatives there. In the 1970s the property was a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

under the auspices of St. John of God. It was an early provider of

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

. The property was used as a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and a

. The house was turned into holiday flats in 2006. In 2009 the developers applied to

Lancaster City Council The City of Lancaster () is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area, which includes the tow ...

to remove the condition that the houses could only be used for holidays, because the company "has found it difficult to market holiday accommodation in the present difficult financial climate". The application was refused.

References

External links

*
Greenhouses in Hazelwood Hall
', painting by Carrington
Additions and alterations at Hazelwood Hall, Silverdale, Lancashire for W H Sharp. Undated
at the National Archives
Found loose in RCPa1/35 letters and notices concerning the St. John of God's hospital at Silverdale
at the National Archives
Hazelwood Hall by Elaine Taylor
Lancashire Gardens Trust {{City of Lancaster buildings Country houses in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the City of Lancaster Gardens in Lancashire