Historic childhood home of the 1st Duke of Wellington for sale at €3.1m

Having only recently agreed an €11 million deal to acquire the nearby Dowth Hall and its vast 223-hectare (552-acre) estate for use as a new national park, the State may well be among the parties to run the rule over the sale of Dangan Castle in Co Meath.

Nestling in the midst of 95.7 hectares (236 acres) of lands comprising tillage, grassland and forestry, the historic home of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who famously defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, is being offered to the market by agent Knight Frank at a guide price of €3.1 million.

[ The Iron Duke – An Irishman’s Diary on the Duke of Wellington ]

While the 18th-century castle is in a ruinous state at present, it was built originally as a large Georgian country residence featuring a five-bay, two-storey facade above a vaulted basement and with a moulded cornice supporting a parapet.

The property passed out of the hands of the Wellesley family to Arthur’s older brother Richard Wellesley, the 1st Marquess Wellesley, who inherited it in 1781. He subsequently sold it on to Thomas Burrowes of the East India Company in 1793 and in 1809 there was a serious fire that destroyed much of the building and it has been a ruin ever since.

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Dangan Castle stands on an elevated site overlooking the estate, which is laid out currently in three sections, with 50 acres of grassland, 115 acres of tillage and 70 acres of forestry. The woodlands are planted with Norway spruce, larch and a mix of broadleaves, enhancing the estate’s biodiversity and amenity appeal. The land has direct access to the Trim Road with an approximate frontage of 180 metres. Both the ruins of Dangan Castle and other features of the demesne are protected structures (MH042-112) while the lands are zoned as “Rural Area” under the Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027. The objective of this zoning is “to protect and promote, in a balanced way, the development of agriculture, forestry and rural-related enterprise, biodiversity, the rural landscape, and the built and cultural heritage”.

Dangan Castle is situated beside Dangan Church on the Trim Road, 2km from Summerhill village and 8km from Trim. The estate is a 25-minute drive from Navan, 40 minutes from Dublin Airport and one hour from Dublin city centre.

James Meagher and Robert Wilson of Knight Frank say: “The Dangan Castle estate offers purchasers the opportunity to secure ownership of an amazing land bank planted with beautiful, mature (150-plus year old) trees set alongside a number of historical features in addition to Dangan Castle such as Dangan Bridge and stable yard. We expect interest in the sale from a range of buyers.”