St. Catherines Chapel (in ruins) — Petitstown

Located in a slight hollow in a gently undulating landscape. The church is depicted as a small rectangular structure described as St. Catherine’s Chapel in gothic lettering within a rectangular enclosure (dims c. 40m NE-SW; c. 30m N-W) on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6-inch map. This is a possible Catholic church of the Penal era as it is not listed by Synnott writing c. 1680 about neglected churches in Forth (Hore 1862, 66-9; Hore 1921, 57-61). The church is sited within a raised D-shaped grass and scrub-covered area (dims. 43m E-W; 32m N-S) defined by a scarp (H 1.8-2m) and a slight outer fosse (Wth of base 2-2.4m; D 0.6m at W to 1.6m at E) that was a rath which is truncated at S by the E-W Rosslare to Waterford railway line. The church is a rectangular structure (ext. dims 6.2m E-W; 4.9m N-S) defined by low earthen banks (max. H 0.5m), with outer fosses or ditches (Wth 2.1m; max. D 0.4m). There is no evidence of burial. St Catherine's Well (WX047-017----) is c. 220m to the SSE. 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: 17 October, 2013