Ambrosetown
Ambrosetown
Baile Ambróis | |
|---|---|
Civil parish | |
Ambrosetown Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 52°15′04″N 6°40′01″W / 52.251°N 6.667°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Wexford |
| Time zone | UTC+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.[1] Ambrosetown townland, which has an area of approximately 1.12 square kilometres (0.43 sq mi),[2] had a population of 37 people as of the 2011 census.[3]
History
Built heritage
The Record of Monuments and Places lists ringfort and holy well sites within Ambrosetown townland.[4] The holy well, known as St Ambrose's Well, shares its name with the parish.[5][6] The ruins of a former parish church at Ambrosetown lie within a enclosed graveyard.[6]
A brick railway viaduct, in the nearby townland of Johnstown,[7] was constructed c. 1904.[8] It carried a line originally operated by the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company.[7]
WWII bombing
During World War II, in which Ireland remained officially neutral, two German Luftwaffe aircraft dropped several bombs in the area.[9][10] 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.[11][12] A second aircraft dropped bombs on the Shelbourne Co-Operative Creamery in nearby Campile, killing three people.[11][13]
Further reading
- Lewis, Samuel, ed. (1837). "Ambrosetown, a parish". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Lewis – via libraryireland.com.
References
- ^ "Baile Ambróis / Ambrosetown". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Ambrosetown Townland, Co. Wexford". townlands.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- ^ "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
- ^ Moore, Michael, ed. (1996). Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford. Dublin: Government Stationery Office. ISBN 9780707623269.
- ^ "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
- ^ a b "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
- ^ a b "Johnstown (Bar. By.) Duncormick Ed, Wexford". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Heffernan, Breda (9 August 2010). "The day Hitler's bombs brought death to a quiet Wexford village". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- ^ Criostóir Bairéad, Eoin (24 June 2010). "The Other German Bombing". dublincity.ie. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ Ryan, Michael (1990). "Campile Bombing". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 31 October 2021.