Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)
entry 74
On the 6th I crossed over the broad ferry, there is another higher up across the river Slany which leads to Inniscorthy, and the navigation up that river is very pleasant: there are three roads to Gory, one close by the sea, another on the high land over it, and the third the high road I went in, which is the farthest to the west. In a mile we passed by Tramore Castle Mr. Preston's, and soon after by Castle Bridge, in about three miles we passed over a rivlet called Arbrohan and a little further had Newfort Mr. Kenny's to the right: half a mile further we passed Carclough a hamlet and rivlet, and going as much farther came to Ballinemona beg, where about five feet below the surface they have a good manure of sand, full of broken pieces of shells, and beyond this they find in the fields a sort of sparr, which is red, blue and white and make use of it for mending the roads; In another mile we came to Oula, where there is an old castle, and a rivlet rises here from four or five streams, which come out of the foot of the hill, and on the side of the hill they have a quarry of rough building stones; this is nine computed miles from Wexford and half way to Gory, and here I dined. In a mile we came to Killiguian rivlet and a mile farther to Wells, where Mr. Doyne has a large brick house. From this place we had a view of a fine vale to the east having a high ground between it and the sea; and all along this vale is a good marle: in half a mile we passed by Bayley Ray Mr. Bolton's, and as much farther through a Hamlet called Bally Edmond, where there is a rivlet
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also; a little farther we passed Ballinatra hamlet and river, and saw Mr. Lindon's [gap: extent: one word] to the right and several other Gentlemens' houses, and descending into a fine vale which forms a sort of Amphitheatre, encompassed with hills and all well wooden and finely improved, we had to the right a wood and house of Lord Anglesea's called Monroe and came to Balliconon a large village, where there is a church in repair; I then passed the river which runs through this vale, and rode over Ballinmenah Hill to the vale in which Gory stands to the south west of the hill Tarah, which like a promontory is seen from the Barony of Forth: on this hill we passed over I saw many red stones like the jaspar on which the ancients frequently cut seals, a piece of which I took with me, to have it polished and see the nature of it. Gory is a very small neat town, consisting of one broad street about a furlong in length; this with two other adjoining parishes belong to the Deanery of Ferns, and there is a neat small church here. Ramsfort is not a quarter of a mile from the town, the seat of Mr. Ram, who is building a grand house of six rooms on a floor, all of it except the grand front is built of the mountain stone or Granite brought from the hills about Agherin on the river of Arklow, it has in it a sort of silver mica and looks as well as fine white freestone; the grand front is of brick with window and door frames of this stone; there is a fine avenue and plantations about it and a large park. Six miles south west of this place is Ferns, which I had formerly seen, there are great remains there of the Bishop's Castle and other buildings; Branduh King of Leinster gave Ferns to St. Edan or Moedog the first Bishop of it and made it an Archbishoprick and the metropolis of Leinster. The Bishop was after this for
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some time called Bishop of Wexford, that is probably of the County, and then without doubt after the Archbishop of Dublin was made the Metropolitan.