Brazil Mill Woods take their name from a mill which extracted dye in the 18th Century from the Brazil wood grown on site. The bridge, sluices and mill race associated with the mill still exist on this part of the river today. A newly installed board walk makes this section of the Crane River path accessible in all  weathers.

It is thought to have been converted into a copper mill later that century. There are also records to show the existence of a flax mill in the same area around 1819 and the gunpowder mills, that continued further south along the river, until 1926. The area was also thought to have produced charcoal due to the abundance of willow and alder trees which favoured the damp river banks.