Town defences

The National Monuments Service's description

The town of New Ross is situated on a steep W-facing slope which runs down to the River Barrow/Nore. The walls enclosed c. 105 acres and they were commenced c. 1265 according to a poem which describes the different trades working in digging the fosse on different days, with the ladies working on Sunday (Hore 1900-10, vol. 1, 58-60). However, according to a charter of 1374, New Ross appears to be still unwalled (ibid, 202 4). Murage was collected down to 1830 but the most intense period was 1374-1420 (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 176).

The town wall ran from the river at the N, up Goat Lane to the Maiden Gate, the only survivor of four original gates. Only one side of the entrance passage with a portcullis niche and evidence of groin vaulting survives. The gate was conserved in 2012 when extraneous fabric was removed and the original structure secured with a lime mortar. The work was archaeologically monitored (E004449) by N. Gregory but no medieval material was encountered in any ground works (excavations.ie 2012:631). From there the wall ran along the back of properties to the W of Haughton Place, and along Nunnery Lane to a mural tower. This is a semicircular tower of mortared shale surviving to two storeys (H c. 5m). Each storey had three windows and the first storey had four smaller slot windows while the ground floor has one. Archaeological testing (95E00086) connected with a drainage scheme identified part of the fosse outside the town wall close to the tower (McCutcheon 1996). From this tower the wall continued on SW to the junction of Neville St.

Here it turned W and proceeded down William St. where there is a preserved section of town wall (L 8.5m; H c. 5m) on Jones' Hill or Lower William St. which may extend in either direction under modern walls. Archaeological testing (E004572) in 2014 by C. McLoughlin of an earthen bank (Wth c. 2m; H 0.8m) on top of the wall and W of the high preserved section demonstrated that the bank was nineteenth century in date and overlying a section (L 29m) of the town wall (Wth c. 2.5m; H up to 2.8m) which was then conserved (excavations.ie 2014:450). Archaeological testing (03E0764) along Priory St. from the junction with Cross Lane to the junction with William St. produced evidence of structures or features at about 10 points, including a lengthy deposit of compact stony brown clay with charcoal and slate inclusions that might be a street surface, a large pit and what might be a section of wall (L 3m; H 0.3m) from the South Gate around the junction of Priory St. and William St. (McLoughlin 2003). The wall crossed the junction with Priory St., and continued towards the river where another tower has been identified (Scully 2010). Archaeological testing (E004572) and reconstruction during 2015 of a section of wall at Goat's Lane demonstrated that the wall was of nineteenth century date but it was built on an earlier wall (Wth 0.75m) of probable medieval date (McLoughlin 2016; excavations.ie 215:329).

According to a map of 1649 a wall had been built on the quay with between three and seven gates by that date (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 177). Rosbercon was an independent borough on the Kilkenny side of the river Barrow/Nore that was probably unwalled. There was a gate at North St., and the Maiden's Gate led to the Irishtown. The Bunnion Gate was at the top of Mary St. while the Three Bullet Gate, also known as the Bewley or Aldgate, was at the junction of Neville St. and William St. The Priory or South Gate was at the junction of Lower William St. and Priory St.

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: 2 August, 2012
Amended: 30 November 2020

References

Scully, O. (2010) Priory Street/Priory Lane, New Ross. Urban, medieval. In I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2007: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 549, No. 1973, Dublin, Wordwell.

Thomas, A. 1992 The walled towns of Ireland, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Mc Cutcheon, S. 1996 New Ross: medieval urban. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1995: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 88, No. 277. Bray. Wordwell.

McLoughlin, C. 2003 Archaeological Monitoring Report, Resurfacing works, New Ross, Co. Wexford. Licence: 03E0764. Unpublished report, Stafford McLoughlin Archaeology

McLoughlin, C. 2016 Archaeological monitoring report on conservation works at Goat Hill, New Ross, Co. Wexford. Licence No. E004572. Unpublished report, Stafford/McLoughlin Archaeology