Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

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170 feet, and its breadth 58 feet; the western entrance
has on one side the consistorial court, and on the other
the vestry, and above these are apartments for a library;
between the entrance and the body of the church is a
spacious vestibule, in which are preserved some of the
monuments that were erected in the old cathedral;
that portion of the building which may be called the
church is 90 feet long and 40 feet high, and consists of
a nave and aisles, separated by ranges of columns sup-
porting galleries. In 1815, an accidental fire materially
injured the building and destroyed the organ, but it was
restored in 1818 at a very great expense, towards which
£2000 was granted by the Board of First Fruits.
Among the monuments in the vestibule are one to the
Fitzgerald family, erected in 1770; a very neat monu-
ment to Mrs. Susannah Mason, erected in 1752; and
one to Bishop Foy: among those of more modern
erection is a tablet to the memory of Bishop Stock,
who died in 1813. In the churchyard are two remark-
ably ancient monuments, one to James Rice, mayor in
1469; the other bearing the figure of a man in armour,
but without date or inscription. James Rice, about the
year 1482, built a chapel 22 feet square against the
north side of the cathedral, and dedicated it to St.
James the Elder and St. Catherine; this, with another
chapel to the east of it, and the chapter-house, was
taken down about 50 years since, in order to enlarge
the churchyard. The Bishop’s palace is situated on the
south side of the open space that surrounds the cathedral,
and is a handsome building of hewn stone; the front
towards the Mall is ornamented with a fine Doric
portico and enriched cornice; the other., facing the
churchyard, has the doorway, window cases, and quoins
in rustic work. The Deanery-house, and also a building
for the accommodation of clergymen’s widows, called
the Widows’ Apartments., are situated in the same
space.
In the R. C. divisions the united sees form one of
the seven bishopricks suffragan to the archiepiscopal
see of Cashel; they comprise 35 parochial benefices or
unions, and contain 78 chapels, served by 89 clergy-
men, of whom, including the bishop, 35 are parish
priests, and 54 coadjutors or curates. The parochial
benefices of the bishop are Trinity Within and St. John’s,
in the former of which are the cathedral and the bishop’s
residence.
The county of the city, from the peculiar situa-
tion of the town on the northern confines of the
county of Waterford, is made to include a portion of
land on the north of the river Suir, which formerly
belonged to the county of Kilkenny; and by the charter
of Chas. I. comprises the great port and river up to
Carrick, that part of the county of Kilkenny which is
contained in the parish of Kilculliheen, all the lands on
the opposite bank of the river in the parishes of Kilbar-
ry and Killoteran, and the town of Passage; compre-
hending together, according to the Ordnance survey, 9683
statute acres, of which about 882 acres are occupied
by the city and suburbs; the amount of Grand Jury
cess, in 1835, was £4928. 9. 7½. The rural districts
present no peculiarity of character; the northern part
chiefly consists of high grounds, commanding fine views
of the city; and on the opposite side, especially on the
banks of the river above the city, are some elevated
lands, except near the course of John’s river, where
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there is an extensive level of marshy land. The pre-
vailing substratum is argillaceous schistus, with silicious
breccia near the summits of the hills, over which red sand-
stone frequently occurs; sienite and hornblende are
found at Kilronan, talcous slate near Knockhouse,
lydian stone on the road to Annestown; hornstone and
jasper, alternating with flinty slate, in the same neigh-
bourhood; and serpentine, resting on a blueish black
quartzose rock, at Knockhouse. The face of Bilberry rock,
over the river Suir, above the city, presents a very in-
teresting section, in which, in addition to the above-named
minerals, are veins of quartz, comprising a considerable
quantity of micaceous iron ore and scalygraphite, both
passing into oxyde of iron and jasper, and in some places
forming, with the quartz, a beautiful jaspery iron-stone;
brown crystallised quartz, with minute crystals of chlo-
rite; red ochre in abundance, sulphate of barytes, oxyde
of titanium, bituminous shale, talcous slate, and arse-
nieurate of iron. The principal gentlemen’s seats in
the vicinity are New Park, the residence of the Rt. Hon.
Sir John Newport, Bart., who represented this city in
parliament for a series of years; Belmont House, of
Henry Winston Barron, Esq.; Mullinabro’, of J. Haw-
trey Jones, Esq.; May Park, of G. Meara, Esq.; Bel-
mont, of I. Roberts, Esq.; Mount Pleasant, of S. King,
Esq.; Ballinamona, of T. Carew, Esq.; Killaspy, of
Alex. Sherlock, Esq.; Bellevue, of P. Power, Esq.;
Bishop’s Hall, of S. Blackmore, Esq.; Faithlegg House,
of N. Power, Esq.; Woodstown, of Lord Carew;
Woodstown, of the Earl of Huntingdon; Summerfield,
of Lord Ebrington; Harbour View, of Capt. Morris;
Dromona, of T. Coghlan, Esq.; Grantstown, of the Rev.
Fras. Reynett; Blenheim Lodge, of Pierce Sweetman,
Esq.; and the residences of J. Stephens and M. Dobbyn,
Esqrs., at Ballycanvin.
The county of the city comprises the parishes of
Trinity Within, Trinity Without, St. Michael, St. Olave,
St. Peter, St. Stephen, St. Patrick, St. John Within, St.
John Without, Killoteran, Kilbarry, and Kilculliheen 3
the three last are entirely rural, and are described under
their own heads. They are all in the diocese of Water-
ford, and province of Cashel, except the last, which is
in the diocese of Ossory, and province of Dublin. The
parishes of Trinity Within and Without (otherwise called
the Holy and Undivided Trinity) form a curacy, which,
with those of St. Michael and St. Olave, together com-
prising two-thirds of the city, are united to the entire
rectory of Kilcarragh and part of that of Kilburne, and
to part of the rectories of Kilineaden and Reisk, together
constituting the corps of the deanery of Waterford, in
the patronage of the Crown. Trinity, St.Michael’s, and
St. Olave’s parishes pay minister’s money. The gross
annual income of the deanery amounts to £1044. 8. 9.,
including one-third share of the corporate revenue of
the dean and chapter, amounting to £145. 4. ( 2. There
are two glebes in the union, one of 17 acres in Kilcar-
ragh, and another of 317 acres in Kilburne. There are,
exclusively of the cathedral church, which is also pai’o-
chial, churches in the parishes of St. Olave and Killo-
teran, which latter rectory is usually held with the
deanery by a separate title. St. Olave’s church was
rebuilt and consecrated by Dr. Milles, bishop of Water-
ford and Lismore, in 1734, a memorial of which is
preserved on a brass plate in the western wall of the
building 3 the pulpit, and the bishop’s throne, which is
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