Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ritual site - holy well
Oldcourt (shelburne By.), County Wexford, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Oldcourt (shelburne By.)
- County
- Wexford
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- St. Nicholas Well
- Latest-edition OS map
- St. Nicholas Well
- Coordinates
- 52.34571, -6.95771
- SMR number
- WX034-028----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
University Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamUniversity Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Marked on the 1839 and 1924 eds of the OS 6-inch map and it is described in gothic lettering as St. Nicholas’ Well on both. It is situated in the bottom of the valley of the E-W Oldcourt Stream which is c. 40m to the N. This is a natural spring, which is the source of a small stream running NW to join the Oldcourt Stream. There is no evidence that it was ever venerated. St. Nicholas of Myra, whose feastday falls on the 6th December, was a 4th century bishop in Turkey and a renowned gift-giver, on whom much of the character of Santa Claus is based (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas) (Butler 1883, 175).
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 14 September, 2012
Amended: 12 February, 2014
References
Butler, Rev. A. 1883 Lives of the Saints. J. S. Virtue London and Dublin, Reprint (1990) London. Studio Editions (Abridged)
Nearby in the register
- Churchunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Castle - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.