Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a rise towards the bottom of a SE-facing slope with a SW-NE stream c. 130m to the SE. This is the parish church of Rossdroit within a subrectangular graveyard (dims. c. 60m NE-SW; c. 45m NW-SE) defined by a stone-clad earthen bank E-S including an extended graveyard around the present St. Peter’s Church of Ireland church that was built in 1795 (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 539). According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 John Hughes was the curate, and the church and chancel were in need of repair (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 272). The extensively restored E and W gables of the medieval church survive (int. L 16.2m; int. Wth c. 7.8m) but the N and S walls are missing. There is a crude window in the E gable, but the arch of the embrasure is of dressed granite. A fragment of an ogee-headed window is beside the E gable. The widening of the N30 New Ross to Enniscorthy road 50-150m NW-NE of the church led to the discovery and excavation of numerous archaeological features (WX025-011001- to WX025-011010-).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 3 July, 2012
Amended: 4 Sep. 2013

References

Hore, P.H. 1900-1911 (Reprint 1979) History of the town and county of Wexford, 6 vols. Dublin. Published by arrangement with W.A. Hennessy Esq.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.