In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described County Waterford like this:
Waterford.-- a maritime co. of Munster province, Ireland; is bounded N. by cos. Tipperary and Kilkenny, E. by co. Wexford, S. by the Atlantic Ocean, and W. by co. Cork; greatest length, E. and W., 52 miles; greatest breadth, N. and S., 28 miles; average breadth, 15 miles; coast line about 50 miles; area, 461,552 ac. ...
(5915 water), or 272 per cent, of the total area of Ireland; pop. 112,768, of whom 9570 per cent. are Roman Catholics, 471 Episcopalians, 072 Presbyterians, and 073 Methodists. The coast is for the most part low and dangerous, and is broken by the inlets of Waterford Harbour, Tramore Bay, Dungarvan Harbour, and Youghal Bay. About two-thirds of the surface is hilly or mountainous; the Cummeragh and Knockmeledown mountains are along the N. border with co. Tipperary; the Drum Hills occupy a part of the SW.; the E. district is fiat, and much of it is marshy. In some parts the soil is very fertile, but dairy farming is much more practised than tillage. Large quantities of butter and bacon are exported. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) Slaty rocks prevail; old red sandstone occurs on W. side of Waterford Harbour. Copper has been worked at Knockmahon; there are valuable quarries of marble near Cappoquin and White-church. The coast and river fisheries are of considerable value; shell-fish is especially abundant on the coast. The principal rivers are the Suir and the Blackwater, which are navigable, and the Bride. The co. comprises 8 bars.- Coshmore and Coshbride, Decies-within-Drum, Decies-without-Drum, Gaultiere, Glenahiry, Kilculliheen, Middlethird, and Upperthird; 82 pars.; the parl. and mun. bor. of Waterford (1 member); and the towns of Carrick on Suir (part of), Dungarvan, Lismore, and Tramore. For parliamentary purposes the county is divided into.2 divisions - viz., West Waterford and East Waterford, each returning 1 member.
Vision of Ireland presents long-run change by redistricting historical statistics to modern units. However, none of our modern units covers an area close to that of County Waterford. If you want trends covering a particular location within the county, find it on our historical maps and then select "Tell me more".
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of County Waterford | Map and description for the county, A Vision of Ireland through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofireland.org/place/20032
Date accessed: 11th November 2024
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