Chapel

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in modern Roadstone quarry on a marked NE-facing slope overlooking the seashore, 2.1km SSE of Arklow town. Two holy wells, Lady's Well (WI045-006----) and St. Patrick's Well (WI045-007-----) lie 130m to the SSW and 280m to the SSE respectively. Site of chapel now occupied by a quarry office. Today there are no surface remains visible of Chapel Hogan which was annotated 'Site of Chapel Hogan' on the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map. In 1838-40 the site of the church was described in the Ordnance Survey Letters as following; 'there is an old little burial place at the south end of the strand in the Townland of Bigrock; it has no name'. Price (1967, 484) wrote about the OS Letters and stated that 'the place he is referring to is Chapel Hogan. There was a mound here with a small piece of masonry on it, but it has now been levelled. I cannot explain the name, but it may have some connection with Baltinglass Abbey (WI027-024001-). The Abbey owned a slat-pan at Arklow adjoining the lands which had been granted to the Cistercians of Furness; it must have been somewhere on the sea-shore here. Baltinglass Abbey also owned the lands of the parish of Clonmelsh, Co. Carlow, and there is a place there called Killogan Burial Ground (CW012-025001-) or Kill Hogan, as it was pronounced locally. Chapel Hogan may have been a chapel belonging to the Abbey near their salt-pan'.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 22 May 2020

References

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.

Price, L. 1967 The place-names of Co. Wicklow. VII - The baronies of Newcastle and Arklow. The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies (382-532).