Ambrosetown

Ambrosetown
Baile Ambróis
Civil parish
Stafford's Pub in Ambrosetown
Stafford's Pub in Ambrosetown
Interactive map of Ambrosetown
Ambrosetown is located in Ireland
Ambrosetown
Ambrosetown
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°15′04″N 6°40′01″W / 52.251°N 6.667°W / 52.251; -6.667
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyCounty Wexford
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))

Ambrosetown (Irish: Baile Ambróis) is a civil parish and townland in County Wexford in the south of Ireland. Ambrosetown townland, which has an area of approximately 1.12 square kilometres (0.43 sq mi), had a population of 37 people as of the 2011 census. On 26 August 1940, several bombs were dropped in the area by two German Luftwaffe aircraft.

History

Built heritage

The Record of Monuments and Places lists ringfort and holy well sites within Ambrosetown townland. The holy well, known as St Ambrose's Well, shares its name with the parish. The ruins of a former parish church at Ambrosetown lie within a enclosed graveyard. The first clerk of the General Post Office, Ambrose Leet, recorded Taghmon as Ambrosetown's post town in A Directory to the Market towns, Villages, Gentlemen's Seats and other noted places in Ireland from 1814. A 2023 South East Radio article reported that as part of an investment funding package for County Wexford's regional and local roads, €610,000 was being allocated to improve 17 bridges in County Wexford, including a bridge called Ambrosetown Bridge.

A brick railway viaduct, in the nearby townland of Johnstown, was constructed c. 1904. It carried a line originally operated by the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company.

WWII bombing

During World War II, in which Ireland remained officially neutral, two German Luftwaffe aircraft dropped several bombs in the area. The Ambrosetown bombing, which took place during daylight hours on 26 August 1940, involved a single aircraft which dropped bombs near the railway viaduct and a local home. A second aircraft dropped bombs on the Shelbourne Co-Operative Creamery in nearby Campile, killing three people.

Townlands

The civil parish of Ambrosetown contains 12 townlands, including the townland of the same name.

Townland Irish name Population Acres Coordinates  
AmbrosetownBaile Ambróis3727752°14′58″N 6°40′1″W / 52.24944°N 6.66694°W / 52.24944; -6.66694
GibletstownBaile Gubail1611052°15′9″N 6°40′47″W / 52.25250°N 6.67972°W / 52.25250; -6.67972
Moortown LittleBaile na Móna Beag2711052°16′34″N 6°39′6″W / 52.27611°N 6.65167°W / 52.27611; -6.65167
Moortown GreatBaile na Móna Mór2729152°16′19″N 6°39′38″W / 52.27194°N 6.66056°W / 52.27194; -6.66056
MaxboleyBuaile Macs1518852°15′32″N 6°40′44″W / 52.25889°N 6.67889°W / 52.25889; -6.67889
HolmanhillCnoc an Chuilinn366752°15′22″N 6°39′42″W / 52.25611°N 6.66167°W / 52.25611; -6.66167
KnockbineCnoc Baoithín5520652°16′5″N 6°40′55″W / 52.26806°N 6.68194°W / 52.26806; -6.68194
CommonsAn Coimín0452°15′25″N 6°40′26″W / 52.25694°N 6.67389°W / 52.25694; -6.67389
WalshgraigueGráig Bhreatnach108752°15′55″N 6°39′56″W / 52.26528°N 6.66556°W / 52.26528; -6.66556
WoodgraigueGráig na Coille2118952°15′39″N 6°39′30″W / 52.26083°N 6.65833°W / 52.26083; -6.65833
HalseyrathRáth an Choill4013252°15′38″N 6°40′17″W / 52.26056°N 6.67139°W / 52.26056; -6.67139
TullycannaTulaigh Uí Chionaoith7338652°16′32″N 6°40′28″W / 52.27556°N 6.67444°W / 52.27556; -6.67444

Demographics

Population of Ambrosetown civil parish at censuses
Year 1841185118611871 188118911901 1911
Population 13712610196 1159286 40 N/a
References

Further reading

Notes

  1. ↑ Data for some censuses was never published at civil parish level.

References

  1. ↑ "Baile Ambróis / Ambrosetown (Civil parish)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Ambrosetown Townland, Co. Wexford". townlands.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 "CD173 - Wexford Population by Private Households, Occupied and Vacancy Rate". data.gov.ie. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 13 January 2026. Population [..] Townlands [..] 2011 [..] Ambrosetown, Duncormick, Co. Wexford: 37
  4. ↑ Moore, Michael, ed. (1996). Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford. Dublin: Government Stationery Office. ISBN 9780707623269.
  5. ↑ "O'Donovan's notes on County Wexford (The parish of Ambrosetown)". New Ross, County Wexford: The New Ross Standard. 8 December 1911. Retrieved 16 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com. The name signifies the town of Ambrose [..] it in not easy to determine whether or not the name is of ecclesiastical origin [..] There is holy well in the townland of Ambrosetown; called Ambrose's Well, but I have some doubts of its correctness, though I may be wrong. If the name of this well be correct, this parish was certainly named after St. Ambrose
  6. 1 2 "NMS mapping data - WX046-018003-". Retrieved 13 January 2026 – via heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com. WX046-018003- : Graveyard : Ambrosetown [..] The parish church of Ambrosetown (WX046-018001-) is within a subcircular graveyard [..] The site of St Ambrose's Well (WX046-018002-) is c. 30m to the NW, in an area that has been quarried
  7. ↑ Leet, Ambrose (1814). A Directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland, with reference to the counties, in which they are situated, the post-town to which each is attached, their description, or if a seat, the name of the resident; to which is added a general index of persons names, referring to the page where their addresss is to be found, together with lists of the post towns and present rates of postage throughout the empire. Brett Smith. p. 4. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Wexford's regional and local roads to benefit from investment worth €22.81 million". County Wexford: South East Radio. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Johnstown (Bar. By.) Duncormick Ed, Wexford". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "An incredible snapshot of Wexford 115 years ago". Wexford People. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2026. The viaduct in Ambrosetown [..was..] built in 1904
  11. ↑ Kearns, AP (2017). "Gloster 'Irish' Gladiator". irelandsmilitarystory.ie. Retrieved 14 January 2026. a Gladiator [..was..] scrambled on 26 August 1940, after two Heinkel He IIIs bombed the Ambrosetown Railway Viaduct and the Shelburne Cooperative Society premises at Campile Co. Wexford
  12. ↑ Kennedy, Michael J. (2008). Guarding Neutral Ireland: The Coast Watching Service and Military Intelligence, 1939-1945. Four Courts Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781846820977. The two planes [..] passed over Carnsore LOP [..] The aircraft separated, one circled Duncormick railway station and dropped four 250kg high-explosive bombs near Ambrosetown, and the other circled over Campile [..] At Ambrosetown the aircraft appeared to have targeted the railway viaduct with bombs fused to explode on impact but missed by about 1,700 feet, hitting a nearby cottage, but killing no one
  13. 1 2 Heffernan, Breda (9 August 2010). "The day Hitler's bombs brought death to a quiet Wexford village". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  14. ↑ Criostóir Bairéad, Eoin (24 June 2010). "The Other German Bombing". dublincity.ie. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  15. ↑ Ryan, Michael (1990). "Campile Bombing". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ambrosetown townlands". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Baile Ambróis / Ambrosetown (Townland)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Baile Gubail / Gibletstown". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Baile na Móna Beag / Moortown Little". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Baile na Móna Mór / Moortown Great". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Buaile Macs / Maxboley". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Cnoc an Chuilinn / Holmanhill". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Cnoc Baoithín / Knockbine". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "An Coimín / Commons". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "Gráig Bhreatnach / Walshgraigue". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Gráig na Coille / Woodgraigue". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Ráth an Choill / Halseyrath". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Tulaigh Uí Chionaoith / Tullycanna". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Table VII". Census of Ireland 1871; Part I, Area, Population, and Number of Houses; Occupations, Religion and Education; Volume I, Province of Leinster; No. 11: County of Wexford. Command papers. Vol. Cd. 662—XI. HMSO. 1873. p. 975.
  30. ↑ "Table VII". Census Returns of Ireland for 1901; Volume I: Province of Leinster; No. 11: County of Wexford. Command papers. Vol. Cd. 847—X. HMSO. 1902. p. 48.
  31. ↑ "Table VII". Census returns for Ireland, 1911; Province of Leinster; County of Wexford. Command papers. Vol. Cd. 6049—XI. London: HMSO. 1912. p. 46.