Brazeel House

Brazeel House (Brazil) was situated to the west of Brackenstown House, and close to the old road to Drogheda. According to Maurice Craig, it was a fine example of the skill and craftsmanship of Irish stonemasons and plaster workers in the early 1600s. It was the former residence of the Bolton family, many of whom had distinguished legal careers. Sir Richard Bolton was Lord Chancellor at the time when Thomas Strafford was Lord Lieutenant under Charles 1 (late 1630s, early 1640s). Among the famous people who visited the house were Owen Roe O’Neill, Oliver Cromwell and Patrick Sarsfield. James 11 retreated by this road after the Battle of the Boyne, and on the night of the defeat, his son, the Duke of Berwick, rallied 7,000 infantry at this spot to make a last stand against William of Orange. Berwick and Sarsfield sent word to James to send cavalry to protect their wings, but William did not bother to pursue them, and the force dispersed in the morning.

Preservation Order

Brazil House was destroyed by fire in 1810, and it was completely demolished in 1978 with the permission of the Office of Public Works, even though it later made a permanent preservation order on the site “to prevent any disturbance of archaeological strata”.