Church (in ruins)

Situated at the bottom of a SE-facing slope with the South Slob of Wexford Harbour c. 700m to the E. This is the parish church of Kerloge. It is described by Synnott writing c. 1680 as a former convent of the Knights Templar (Hore 1862, 67). It may be site of St Aloch's Church mentioned in a charter of Henry II in 1172 (Cullen 1895, 375-6), but this is disputed by Hore (1900-11, vol. 4, 262-3; 1906, vol. 5, 84). St. Aloch's church is probably at Templetown (WX049-008001-) in Shelbourne (Culleton 1999, 128; Colfer 2002, 196). The foundation course of a wall (L 14.4m) oriented N-S is thought to be the remains of the church, but the graveyard has been removed. An altar from the church (WX037-032046-) has been re-erected outside the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption in Wexford town. St James' Well (WX042-006003-) is c. 10m S of the church wall. Archaeological monitoring (21E0154) by Y. Whitty of the line of a water pipe on the road c. 60-100m distant W-N produced no related material (Whitty 2021). 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: 27 May, 2013 Amended: 4 August 2021

The church at Kerloge was likely built by the Knights Templar, as noted by Synnott in the late 17th century, and dates to the medieval period, possibly the 12th or 13th century. Its significance lies in its historical association with the Templars and its role as the parish church of Kerloge.