Religious house - Augustinian canons

The National Monuments Service's description

A monastery of the Order of St. Victor was founded by Gerald de Prendergast in 1230 and subsequently attached to St Thomas' in Dublin at which time it became Augustinian (Lewis 1837, vol. 1, 604). Nothing is known of its subsequent history except that it was still owned by St. Thomas’ at the Suppression in 1541-2 (White 1943, 44-5). In the later 16th century it was owned by various people, including Sir Henry Wallop after 1595 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 175). In 1641 Sir Gerard Lowther, a Protestant, owned a thousand acres and a ‘fair stone house’ in St. Johns (Simington 1953, 255). The location is not absolutely known, but John O’Donovan writing about 1840 (O’Flanagan 1933, vol, 2, 255) thought that it was on the site of St. John’s House, an early 19th century mansion, where there is a 17th century house (WX026-004002-). This is in the N-S Slaney valley, with the river c. 100m to the E. Nothing of the medieval structure is visible at ground level. Archaeological testing (17E0279) by A. McCarthy c. 150m to the N at the closest point produced no related material (excavations.ie 2017:532).

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: 12 July 2012
Amended: 4 February 2022

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1933 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of County Wexford, collected during progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838. Typescript in 2 vols. Bray.

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

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1953 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. IX: county of Wexford. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

White, N.B. 1943 Extents of Irish monastic possessions, 1540-1541. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.