Church

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in the valley of a small W-E stream, on the N bank and c. 1 km from the sea-shore. The parish church of Ballyvaldon is within a rectangular graveyard (dims. c. 40m NE-SW; c. 25m NE-SW) defined by masonry walls. According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 this church was impropriate to Henry Wallop and the name of the priest, if any, is not recorded. Nor is the condition of the church building recorded (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 268). The church is a rectangular building (int. dims 16.7m NE-SW; 5.5m NW-SE) with walls that survive to the roof level with window openings in the NE gable (blocked) and at the E ends of NW and SE walls (destroyed). A round-headed doorway with uncut voussoirs is at the W end of the SE wall and there is an aumbry inside at its E end. A window high in W gable mentioned by John O’Donovan writing c. 1840 (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 218-20) is now obscured by ivy. The mound (WX027-037----) is c. 75m to the E, on the other side of the stream.

See the attached section from the Down Survey (1656-8) barony map (N at right) reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (MS 725).

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: 17 July 2012
Amended: 2 Sep. 2013

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.

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.