In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Wexford like this:
Wexford, seaport, mun. bor., and the capital, co. Wexford, at mouth of river Slaney, on Wexford Harbour, 15 miles SE. of Enniscorthy and 92 miles S. of Dublin by rail, 481 ac., pop. 12,163; 3 Banks, 4 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. Wexford was a settlement of the Danes in the 9th century; was taken by the English under Fitzstephen in the reign of Henry II.; was sacked by Cromwell in 1649; and was the headquarters of the insurgents in 1798. ...
Several parts of the old walls and the ruins of ancient abbeys still remain. There are several convents and eminent educational institutions. The harbour is very capacious, but its entrance is impeded by a bar of sand; vessels, drawing not more than 10 ft. of water, can cross this bar; larger vessels load and discharge their cargoes at Ballygeary, 6 miles to the S., where a deep water harbour has been constructed. (For shipping statistics, see Appendix.) Steamers sail weekly between Wexford and the ports of Bristol and Liverpool. The exports are considerable, and consist chiefly of agricultural produce, live stock, malt, and whisky. Wexford has 1 distillery. There is a shipbuilding yard. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the salmon, herring, and oyster fisheries. Wexford returned 1 member to Parliament until 1885.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Wexford, in and County Wexford | Map and description, A Vision of Ireland through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofireland.org/place/28172
Date accessed: 09th May 2024
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