Site of Chapel Hogan, Grave Yard — Rock Big

Situated in modern Roadstone quarry on a marked NE-facing slope overlooking the seashore, 2.1km SSE of Arklow town. Two holy wells, Lady's Well (WI045-006----) and St. Patrick's Well (WI045-007-----) lie 130m to the SSW and 280m to the SSE respectively. Annotated 'Site of Chapel Hogan, Grave Yard' on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map. In 1838-40 the graveyard was described in the Ordnance Survey Letters as following; 'there is an old little burial place at the south end of the strand in the Townland of Bigrock; it has no name'. Price (1967, 484) mentions the site of a church, then only a mound of rubble. It is now occupied by a quarry office. According to Jim Rees a local historian this graveyard was later used as a burial place for unbaptised children also known as a Cillín [Killeen] (pers. comm. Jim Rees 22 May 2020). Around 1960-1 this area was being levelled in order to construct the office building and the weighbridge when the graveyard wall was revealed along with human bones that were uncovered by the works. The skeletal material was then reburied in a pit in front of the Lady's Well (WI045-006----) grotto (SMR File). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Jim Rees Date of revised upload: 22 May 2020