a maritime county in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, is bounded on the N. by Wicklow, on the E. by St. George's Channel, on the S. by the Atlantic, and on the W. by Waterford, Kilkenny, and Carlow. It lies between 52° 4' and 52° 48' N. Lat. and 6° 5' and 7° 1' W. Long.; extending 55 miles in its greatest length from N. to S., and 34 in its greatest breadth from W. to E., and comprehending an area of 900 square miles, or 576,616 acres, of which 510,702 are arable, 45,501 uncultivated, 14,325 in plantations, 2392 in towns, and 3668 under water. The 45,000 acres of uncultivated rough pasture land are situate chiefly on the eastern declivities of the mountains adjoining the county of Wicklow; of the whole, about 16,000 acres are capable of being drained and cultivated advantageously; 18,000 acres may be drained for mountain pasture; and 11,000 acres, consisting chiefly of the rocky and heathy tops of mountains, may be considered as incapable of improvement.

The county was first known as the settlement of the Brigantes and of the Menapii, whose chief town, Menapia, is supposed to have been either Ferns or Wexford; the latter holding the northern parts, with part of Wicklow, the former the southern and western, with a portion of Waterford. It was afterwards known by the name of Laighion or South Leinster. It suffered severely by the predatory incursions of the Danes, who, after ravaging the open country, and burning Ferns, then the capital, made a permanent settlement, of which the town of Weisford or Wexford was the principal position. They retained possession of the district until the arrival of the English, who, in 1169, landed at Bagenbon, near Bannow, under the command of Robert Fitzstephen, Maurice Fitzgerald, and Hugh de Montmorency, and took the town of Wexford, which McMurrough, king of Leinster, to whose aid these adventurers had come into the country, granted to Fitzstephen, together with the adjoining district of Forth, at the same time bestowing on Montmorency the neighbouring district of Bargie. The latter grant was confirmed by Henry II. on his arrival; but that conferred on Fitzstephen was taken from him and made part of the palatinate of Leinster, which the same king granted to Strongbow, the first undertaker of the adventure, and chief leader of the Wexford forces. The district descended, through the female line, to William Earl Marshal, on whose demise, without male issue, it was portioned out among his five daughters, the second of whom, wife of Warren de Mountchenoy, obtained Wexford. In consequence of the frequent changes of seigniory, the district fell into a state of great distraction, and was partly seized on by the Kavenaghs, the descendants of McMurrough, who assumed the title of Kings of Leinster. It was reduced to shire-ground by King John in 1210, and the lordship having ultimately descended to the Earl of Shrewsbury, the county was separated into two parts, the Liberty and the Cross, the former being governed by authorities appointed by the earl, the latter by officers of the crown. Each sent two members to the Irish parliament, until the property of the earl became vested in the crown, under the statute of absentee, passed in 1537. During the civil wars of 1641, it was held for the royal party, until reduced by Cromwell, whose operations were signalled by much cruelty. Since that event, the county remained in a tranquil state until the year 1798, when it became the principal seat of the insurrection in the southern counties; the town of Wexford forming the headquarters of the insurgents, and several severe conflicts taking place at Enniscorthy, New-Ross, and other positions, with the royal forces.

The surface consists chiefly of a collection of very low hills, except on the northern and western sides, on the former of which it rises into an elevated ridge, forming the southern termination of the great Wicklow group. Its loftiest points are Slieveboy, 1384 feet high; Kilkieran, 1063; Connor Hill, 1491; and Croghan-Kinsheela, 1885. On the latter or western side it is bounded by the rugged granitic chain of Mount Leinster, extending from the valley of the Slaney at Newtownbarry to the confluence of the Barrow with the Nore, near New-Ross—a distance of 20 miles, comprehending the summits locally known as Mount Leinster, 2610 feet high, and Blackstairs, 2409 feet in height. The county boundary on this side is continued southwards by the Barrow and the estuary of Waterford harbour. Within the county are the Camerross Hills and Carrickburne, respectively 598 and 766 feet; Lackan, near New-Ross, 628; Tara Hill, between Arklow and Courtown harbour, a striking landmark on the eastern coast, 825; and Forth Mountain, 774 feet. The south-eastern extremity, containing the baronies of Forth and Bargie, forms a peninsula of low land, nearly shut out from the rest of the county by the last-mentioned range of mountains and by Wexford harbour. The principal river is the Slaney, which rises in the county of Wicklow, and, after passing through the county of Carlow, enters this county at its north-western extremity, and traverses it in a south-eastern direction, till it falls into Wexford harbour at Carrig, noted for the remains of an ancient Norman fortress, erected by Fitzstephen immediately after his landing. The whole course of this river is marked by a succession of picturesque scenery; and it receives in its progress a number of tributary streams, of which the Bann is the most remarkable. The Slaney is navigable for barges of considerable tonnage to Enniscorthy. The Bannow, which discharges itself into a bay of the same name, claims notice solely from its historic reminiscences. The Barrow forms the western boundary, from the foot of the Blackstairs range of mountains, to its confluence with the Suir, in Waterford harbour. There are no lakes inland, but on the southern coast, near Carnsore Point, are two loughs, Pacumshin, open to the sea, and Lady Lough, which, being supplied by the ingress of several small streams, and having no natural outlet, increases rapidly in extent, covering the surrounding low land, until, in every second or third year, its accumulated waters are drawn off by an artificial cut, Wexford, which discharges them into the sea. The coast on the eastern side, from Arklow southwards to Wexford, is very dangerous, having no place of refuge in case of foul weather, except in the small artificial harbour of Courtown, fit only for small craft. The dangers of navigation are increased by a succession of sand-banks from that of Arklow, the south point of which is marked by a floating light. These are called Kilgorman, the Rusk and Ram, and Blackwater Bank. Wexford harbour forms a large and safe land-locked basin; but the entrance to it is obstructed by a bar, on which at neap tides there is not more than eleven feet of water; and in the passage up to the quay there are several shifting banks, that render the navigation hazardous even to those acquainted with it. Within the harbour are the two small islands of Beg-Eri and Great Island, on each of which are the remains of monastic buildings. The Tuskar Rock, about five miles from shore, between Greensore and Carnsore Point, has on it a revolving light of various colours, consisting of twenty-one argand lamps, and is seen far along the line of coast. South of the coast, and west of Carnsore Point, are the two Saltsee islands. South of them is a floating light; and between them and the mainland is a narrow ridge, called St Patrick's Bridge, with but from seven to ten feet of water on it at ebb tide. Farther west are the fishing harbours of Crosfarnogue and Fethard. The latter is a creek, dry at low water. Still farther, the projecting point of Hookhead, having on it a lighthouse 110 feet high, forms the southern extremity of the coast, which thence trends northwards to the mouth of the Barrow, forming the eastern side of Waterford harbour. On this coast, commanding the entrance to the harbour, is Duncannon Fort, which has been regularly garrisoned since the threatened invasion of the Spaniards in 1588. The fort occupies the point of a rocky headland, about a quarter of a mile from the line of the shore, and rising 130 feet above the level of high water.

The basis of nearly the whole county is a stratum of clay-slate, interrupted by several small patches of quartz rock near Gorey, one of larger size south of Wexford, and another south of Enniscorthy. A small protrusion of greenstone trap, with whin-dykes, appears to the north of Gorey. The carboniferous or mountain limestone shows itself to the south of Wexford, along the shore of the harbour. It forms also the extremity of Hookhead Point. Mount Leinster and Blackstairs are a continuation of the great granite formation of Wicklow, constituting its southern termination, which is here broken through by the valley of the Barrow or New-Ross river. On its eastern verge it is bordered by clay-slate, passing into greenstone-slate. Granite also shows itself in two patches south of Carnsore Point. The Saltsees are of clay-slate, supporting beds of sandstone. Slates are raised in several places. A leadmine at Cairn, after having been worked for some time, and abandoned, has been reopened. Silver was formerly raised at Clonmines, where it is said that the Danes established a mint for its coinage. Copper ore has been discovered near Wexford, and remains of ancient mines are visible in several places. A perfect skeleton of the great moose-deer of Ireland was found in a bog, and preserved in a private collection in the county. The soil in the southeastern parts is a rich alluvial mould, mixed with coralline sand and limestone. The peninsula of Hookhead, which rests on a limestone bed, is peculiarly fertile, both throwing up a rich herbage and yielding heavy crops of grain. The quality of the soil deteriorates on proceeding westward; but the farmer finds a valuable equivalent in these districts in the large tracts of turf or peat-moss with which its surface is overspread.

The numbers of the population, according to the calculations most deserving of credit, have been as follows:

| Year | Authority | Total Inhabitants | |------|-----------|-------------------| | 1760 | De Burgo | 66,804 | | 1791 | Baggott | 115,060 | | 1821 | Parliamentary census | 160,000 | | 1831 | Ditto | 170,806 | | 1841 | Ditto | 182,713 | | 1851 | Ditto | 202,033 |

The latest of these returns shows a decrease of 24 persons per square mile in the density of the population, which in 1841 was 224, and in 1851 had declined to 200 inhabitants. The return of the Commissioners of Public Instruction, made in 1834, gives a total of 187,497 souls, of which 21,602 were members of the Established Church, 317 Protestant dissenters, and 165,578 Roman Catholics. The number of children receiving instruction in public schools, as stated in various parliamentary returns, is as follows:

| Year | Boys | Girls | Sex not ascertained | Total | |------|------|-------|--------------------|-------| | 1821 | 7,924| 3930 | | 11,854| | 1824-26| 10,951| 7233 | 585 | 18,760| | 1838-39| 2,825| 1748 | | 4,573 |

According to the return of 1824-26, in which alone notice is taken of the religious persuasion of the pupils, the numbers were as follows:—Established Church, 2293; Protestant dissenters, 30; Roman Catholics, 15,641. The number of schools, and of pupils attending them, was found by the Census Commissioners, in April 1851, to be:

| Description | No. of Schools | No. of Children | |-------------|---------------|----------------| | | | Males | Females | Total | | National | 80 | 2521 | 2616 | 5,137 | | Church Education | 21 | 369 | 344 | 713 | | Diocesan | 2 | 131 | | 131 | | Endowed | 8 | 177 | 196 | 373 | | Boarding | 3 | 36 | 11 | 47 | | Private | 53 | 643 | 488 | 1,131 | | Parochial | 28 | 416 | 326 | 742 | | Fré | 11 | 169 | 203 | 372 | | Industrial | 1 | | 38 | 38 | | Mission | 2 | 508 | | 508 | | Workhouse | 5 | 951 | 993 | 1,944 | | Gaol | 1 | 152 | | 152 | | Total | 215 | 6073 | 5215 | 11,288|

There is an endowed school at Ferns, on the foundation of Erasmus Smith, in which the master receives an annual salary of L30, in addition to the pupils' fees. At NewRoss there is a school, founded by Sir John Ivory, with an additional endowment from the corporation.

The county is divided into ten baronies—

| Baronies | Acres | Annual Valuation | |----------|-------|------------------| | Ballaghkeen, North | 45,884 | 29,362 | | Ballaghkeen, South | 40,975 | 30,130 | | Bantry | 101,232 | 51,643 | | Barry | 40,692 | 27,167 | | Forth | 38,366 | 32,404 | | Gorey | 81,926 | 49,999 | | Scarawashe | 106,429 | 58,319 | | Shelburne | 51,103 | 33,177 | | Shemalure, East | 16,834 | 12,412 | | Shemalure, West | 50,300 | 30,098 | | Borough of New-Ross (part of) | 366 | 8,627 | | Borough of Wexford | 472 | 15,678 | | Reclaimed Land | 4,071 | 1,049 | | Water and Ocean Fisheries | 3,668 | 170 | | Total | 580,658 | 377,835 | Wexford. These are subdivided into 143 parishes, all except two in the diocese of Dublin, being within that of Ferns, which is nearly conterminous with the county. The diocese was united with that of Leighlin until after the passing of the act for reducing the number of sees in Ireland, under the provisions of which the united dioceses were, in 1835, joined to that of Ossory, and the three are now held by one bishop, who is a suffragan to the archbishop of Dublin.

Previously to the Union, the county was represented in the Irish parliament by eighteen members, two for the county, and two for each of the boroughs of Bannew, Clonmines, Enniscorthy, Fethard, Newborough, New-Ross, Taghmon, and Wexford. By the Act of Union the number was reduced to four; two for the county, and one each for New-Ross and Wexford, which arrangement has been continued under the Reform Act. The county is in the Leinster circuit. The assizes are held at Wexford, and general sessions of the peace at the same place, and in Enniscorthy, Gorey, and New-Ross, twice in the year. The county infirmary and county gaol are in Wexford. The county contains the poor-law unions of Wexford, Gorey, Enniscorthy, and New-Ross, the two latter of which include portions of the neighbouring counties, and a portion of the county of Wexford is comprised in the union of Shillelagh, the seat of which is in the adjoining county of Wicklow.

The Forth mountain divides the county into two districts, differing as widely from each other in character as if they were in separate islands. The country to the south of this mountain, containing the baronies of Forth and Bargie, is peopled by the descendants of the English colony which was located here in the time of Henry II. Their manners, customs, mode of dress, and in a great degree their language, still retain traces of the peculiarity of their origin. The appearance of these baronies, when viewed by a spectator placed on the summit of their boundary-ridge, is not unlike the south of Devonshire. The entire district is well peopled, and contains some of the richest lands in the county. The farm-houses, as in Devonshire, are built of clay, and thatched, with neat offices, and generally a vegetable garden attached to them. The unweeded and well-directed industry of the farmers insures a large return from the land, much of which is under tillage, and the vicinity of the sea enables the farmer to obtain a plentiful supply of seaweed and calcareous sand for manure, besides which, marl is found in abundance. Fuel is scarce; but the want of turf is supplied by the use of furze, which thrives here luxuriantly, and with which the mounds of earth that form the general fence of the farm are thickly topped; thus insuring at the same time the most perfect security against trespass, shelter for the cattle in severe weather, and a supply, sufficient though not profuse, of fuel from the prunings of the furze. It is said that there was a turbarry along the shore, which the encroachments of the sea have long ago covered with sand, and with water during flood-tides. The principal crops are barley and beans. These are to be seen, in the peninsula of Carne, growing luxuriantly on land so overspread with stone as to induce the opinion that the ground was wholly unproductive. Poultry of every kind is reared in all the farm-houses, chiefly for exportation. Many farmers pay much attention to the rearing of bees, and efforts are frequently made to preserve the stock while taking the honey. The sandy reaches near the coast form burrows for immense numbers of rabbits, the flesh of which is deemed to be of a peculiarly good flavour. The shores are frequented by numerous flocks of wild and sea fowl, among which the barnacle is most highly prized. Round fish is taken in large quantities on the eastern extremity of Nymph Bank, which is off the coast; and also at the station of the floating light off the Saltees. The inshore fishing employs many hands, their open boats being enabled to run for shelter during rough weather into the numerous creeks and inlets which indent the coast. Shell-fish is plenty. Wexford. The Wexford oyster is carried to Dublin, where it finds a ready market, more on account of size than flavour. Wexford town is the chief market for the produce of the farms, and many of the inhabitants have never travelled farther, looking on all beyond the mountain as a foreign country. The dialect of the peasantry, of which some vestiges are still preserved in common conversation, was Saxon-English of the time of the Henries and Edwards. The rector of a parish there, when reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales while overseeing his reapers in a field, was struck with the similarity between many words in his book and the expressions he heard from those around him. On reading some passages of it to them, he was peculiarly struck with the surprise and pleasure expressed by them when they found themselves able to understand what was written in a book. They were fully competent to interpret what was read, and gave explanations of phrases and passages which to him were abstruse, in a manner more satisfactory than the commentators whose notes were annexed to the printed text. Their usual mode of saluting each other is simple and pleasing. On meeting, one asks, "Is it long since?" meaning to inquire whether the interval of absence has appeared long. The reply is couched in similar terms of artless courtesy, "Yea, joy." At their marriages, which in other respects were celebrated according to the forms usual elsewhere, an apple was cut into small pieces and thrown among the crowd, a custom derived from England, but the origin of which is unknown. The dress of the peasantry, until of late years, was for the men a jacket or short coat, waistcoat, and trunk breeches, with a round narrow-brimmed hat; for the women, a short jacket and petticoat, bordered at bottom with several rows of coloured ribbon or tape; the head-dress was a kerchief. The women do all manner of field-work, except ploughing, and receive equal wages with the men. The manners and customs of the inhabitants of the other baronies resemble those of the Irish peasantry throughout the surrounding counties; there is less attention to external appearance and to domestic comfort and cleanliness. The soil also is poorer, and the farming less precise. In the western baronies, where there is neither seaweed, marl, nor limestone, the petty farmer will take long journeys to draw home a load of lime, forty loads of which are required to manure an acre. In most respects the system of tillage or the description of crops differs little from those of similar soils elsewhere. But it is observed, that even in those districts of the northern baronies in which the soil is good, abounding with marl alternating with a clayey loam, and adequate, by proper management, to give an abundant return to well-directed industry, the same extent of activity, comfort, or happiness of the people existing in the southern baronies does not appear. This difference has generally been most striking on the estates in which the practice of letting lands to middle-men was most prevalent.

The extent of land under each description of crop, in 1849 and 1859, was—

| Crop | 1849 Acres | 1859 Acres | |-----------------------|------------|------------| | Wheat | 44,592 | 27,238 | | Oats | 80,196 | 67,626 | | Barley, Rye, Beans, Peas | 35,563 | 44,383 | | Potatoes | 32,017 | 31,607 | | Turnips | 9,763 | 15,041 | | Other green crops | 2,955 | 5,206 | | Flax | 115 | 74 | | Meadow and clover | 39,343 | 50,258 | | Total | 245,514 | 241,493 | The quantity of live stock in the county at the same periods was—

| | 1843 | 1850 | |--------|------|------| | Horses | 29,271 | 28,228 | | Cattle | 76,163 | 111,147 | | Sheep | 54,064 | 114,058 | | Swine | 51,290 | 61,354 |

The manufactures carried on in the county are those of woollen cloth, checks, and coarse linens, all for the home-consumption of the district, and wrought in the farmhouses. At present the raising of grain and rearing of cattle is almost exclusively the occupation of the inhabitants, and the export of the agricultural produce the sole article of commerce. The principal markets for grain and flour are Wexford, Enniscorthy, and New-Ross. Much butter is sent to Dublin and exported to Liverpool, together with swine and poultry. The exports of the county through Wexford have been estimated at 30,000 tons, value £330,000, and the imports through the same channel at 40,000 tons, value £600,000. The communication with the counties in the interior is carried on chiefly by the Barrow, which is navigable for barges to Athy, where it meets the Grand Canal.

Every part of the county, but more particularly the southern baronies, abounds with relics of Danish, Saxon, and Norman antiquities. Raths are very numerous. There are two of considerable magnitude near Dunbrody, and two others near Enniscorthy and New-Ross. A heap of stones, near Wicklow Gap, at the northern extremity of the county, marks the spot where the bodies of those who fell in a sanguinary conflict there, between the king's troops and the insurgents of 1798, were interred together. The abbey of Dunbrody, situate near the confluence of the Suir and Barrow or Ross river, still exhibits the remains of one of the finest monastic buildings in Ireland; it was founded in 1182 by Henry de Montmorency, marshal of Henry II. Tintern Abbey, called also "De Voto," was founded in 1200 by William, Earl Marshal of England and Earl of Pembroke, near the Bannow, on the spot where he landed after a storm, in performance of a vow made by him while in peril. On the head of Bagbanbo, so called from the names of the ships, Bag and Bun, in which the Anglo-Norman adventurers first crossed the channel, are the vestiges of a strong earthen intrenchment called Strongbow's Camp; but it was more probably that of Fitzstephen and his followers on their first landing. Ferns Castle, built by Strongbow, continued to be looked upon as a place of great military importance to the time of Cromwell's campaigns, when it was destroyed by the parliamentary forces under Sir Charles Coote: the position was also occupied during the insurrection of 1798. Enniscorthy Castle, built by Raymond le Gros at the same period with the former, was also a place of strength in the time of Cromwell, and in 1798 was used as a prison by the insurgents while in possession of the town. Buttermilk Castle, or Cuillean-na-Blahic, consists of two small dark towers at the foot of a steep hill near Dunbrody; it was used as a toll-house for the adjoining pass across the river, and as a place to receive and cure the fish due to the monks. Duncannon Fort was erected during the alarm of the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada in the reign of Elizabeth. It is still kept up as a military position, having a bomb-proof magazine, and arrangements for mounting forty-two guns, with suitable accommodations for a garrison.

the county-town, is situate on the southern side of the mouth of the Slaney, where it falls into Wexford haven. It was founded by the Danes, and after having been taken by the English on their first landing in Ireland, Weymouth became a place of some importance. It obtained a charter in 1318, which was confirmed and enlarged by James I. in 1608. A parliament was held in it by the Earl of Desmond in 1463. At the breaking out of the war of 1641, it took part with the Irish, and continued in their possession till taken in 1649 by Cromwell, either by force or treachery, when the inhabitants, like those of Drogheda, were subjected to military execution. In the war of 1688 it declared for King William, and in the insurrection of 1798 was seized and occupied by the insurgents until their main body was utterly defeated at Vinegar Hill near Enniscorthy. The town still retains many vestiges of antiquity. The streets are narrow and winding. It is connected with the northern part of the county by a wooden bridge, 722 feet long, thrown across the Slaney. A broad quay proceeds from the bridge along the border of the haven for upwards of half a mile. The corporate jurisdiction of the town under the charter of James is vested in a mayor, burgesses, and commons. The mayor holds a court of conscience for debts under 40s. The county court-house, prison, union workhouse, infirmary, and fever-hospital are in the town. The borough exercised a prescriptive right of returning two members to the Irish parliament, which number was reduced to one at the Union. The number of electors in 1859 was 301. By the municipal corporation act for Ireland the corporation was dissolved, and power granted to form a new corporate body, according to conditions expressed in the act, under the name of "the mayor, bailiffs, free burgesses, and commonality of the town or borough of Wexford." Nine fairs are held during the year. The town is the principal place of export for the county. Together with the suburbs, it forms an ecclesiastical union, consisting of eleven parishes, in which there are two churches. There are also several Roman Catholic chapels, some of which belong to monastic institutions. The population was, in 1821, 8326; in 1831, 10,673; in 1841, 11,252; and in 1851, 12,471. In 1834 the members of the Established Church numbered 2031, the Protestant dissenters 28, and the Roman Catholics 12,641; the Protestants being to the Roman Catholics as 1 to 6. The population of the other towns in the county whose numbers exceed 1000 each was, in 1851, Enniscorthy, 6095; New-Ross, 7941; Gorey, 2973.