Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/558

Rh 522 W E X W E Y was divided by King John in 1210, and formed part of the pos sessions of William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, who had married Strougbow s daughter. Through the female line it ultimately passed to John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who in 1446 was made earl of Waterford and baron of Dungarvan. In 1474 George Talbot was seneschal of the liberty of Wexford. The district was actively concerned in the rebellion of 1641; and during the Cromwelliau campaign, the town of Wexford was on 9th October 1649 carried by storm, and a week later the garrison at New Ross surrendered, a &quot;seasonable mercy,&quot; according to Cromwell, as giving him an &quot; opportunity towards Minister.&quot; Wexford was the chief seat of the rebellion of 1798, the leaders there being the priests. Evidences of the Danish occupation are seen in the numerous raths, especially at Dunbrody, Enniscorthy, and New Ross. Among the monastic ruins special mention may be made of Dunbrody abbey, of great extent, founded in 1182 for Cistercian monks by Henry de Montmorency, marshal of Henry II. ; Tintern abbey, founded in 1200 by William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, and peopled by monks from Tintern abbey in Mon mouthshire ; the abbey of St Sepulchre, Wexford, founded shortly after the invasion by the Roches, lords of Fermoy; Ferns abbey, founded by Dermod Macmorrough ; and the abbey of New Ross, founded by St Alban in the 6th century. There are a consider able number of old castles, including Ferns, dismantled by the Parlia mentary forces under Sir Charles Coote in 1641, and occupying the site of the old palace of the Macmorroughs ; the massive pile of Enniscorthy, founded by Raymond le Gros ; Carrick Castle, near Wexford, the first built by the English ; and the fort of Duncannon, which has been garrisoned since the time of the Spanish Armada, and caused some trouble to Cromwell when in Wexford. WEXFORD, a seaport, market-town, and municipal borough, and the chief town of the above county, is finely situated on the south side of the Slaney, where it discharges into Wexford Harbour, on the Dublin, Wicklow, and Wex ford Railway and a branch line of the Great Southern and Western, 82 miles south of Dublin and 15 south-east, of Enniscorthy. AVexford Harbour, formed by the estuary of the Slaney, is about 3 miles from north to south and about 4 from east to west, and has an area of about 1300 acres. A fine bridge of wood and iron 1500 feet in length crosses a narrow part of the estuary. The harbour affords splendid accommodation for shipping, but its advantages have been in great part lost by a bar at its mouth pre venting the entrance of vessels drawing more than 12 feet. The construction of a pier at Rosslare connected with Wexford by a railway has, however, proved of great benefit. The town -consists of the quay, about 1000 feet in length, with two narrow streets running parallel with it, and other smaller ones branching off at intervals. Some remains of the old walls and flanking towers still exist. The Protestant Episcopal church, near the ruins of the ancient abbey of St Sepulchre, is said to occupy the spot where the treaty was signed between the Irish and their English invaders in 1169. The principal modern buildings are the town-hall, the theatre, the court-house, the barracks, occupying the site of the ancient castle, St Peter s College for the education of Catholic clergy, the county infirmary, the union workhouse, and a number of convents. The port has communication by steamer with Liverpool and Bristol. In 1886 the number of vessels that entered the port was 847 of 85,004 tons, the number that cleared 836 of 84,065 tons. The principal exports are agricultural produce, live stock, and whisky. Ship building is carried on, and also tanning, malting, brewing, iron-founding, distilling, and the manufacture of artificial manure, flour, agricultural implements, and rope and twine. The population of the town in 1871 was 12,077, and in 1881 it was 12,163. Wexford was one of the earliest colonies of the English, having been taken by Fitzstephen. It was the second town that Cromwell besieged in 1649. It was garrisoned for William III. in 1690. In 1798 it was made the headquarters of the rebels, who, however, surrendered it on the 21st June. In 1318 the town received a charter from Aldomar de Valence, which was extended by Henry IV. in 1411, and confirmed by Elizabeth in 1558. By James 1. it was in 1608 made a free borough corporate, by the title of &quot; the town and free borough corporate of Wexford.&quot; It returned two members to parliament from 1374 till the Union, when they were reduced to one. In 1885 it was included in the South Division of the county. WEYMOUTH AND MELCOJIBE REGIS, a seaport, water ing-place, market-town, and municipal borough of Dorset, England, is situated at the mouth of the small river Wey, on Weymouth Bay, opposite the Isle of Portland, and on the London and South-Western Railway and a branch of the Great Western, 7-i miles south of Dorchester, 27J west-south-west of Poole Junction, and 145| from London. It is formed of Weymouth, a fishing town and seaport on the south-west of the Wey, and Melcombe Regis on the north-east of the river, the two towns being connected by a bridge reconstructed in 1881. An esplanade about a mile in length fronts the sea. To the south of the esplanade is a pier of stone on wooden piles 1050 feet in length, erected in 1859 at a cost of 12,000. The harbour lies between the pier on the north and the spur of land called the Nothe on the south, and is protected by a con crete wall extending 500 feet northward from the Nothe. The principal buildings are the old town-hall, the market- house, the guild-hall, the masonic hall, the royal Dorset yacht clubhouse, the theatre, the Royal Victoria Jubilee Hall, the Weymouth and Dorset eye infirmary, the Wey mouth royal hospital and dispensary, the Weymouth sana torium for women and children, and the infantry barracks. Opposite the Royal Terrace is an equestrian statue of George III., erected in 1809 in commemoration of his jubilee. A marble statue was also erected to Sir H. Edwards in 1885. A mile south-west of Weymouth is Sandsfoot Castle, a fort erected by Henry VIII. for the protection of the shipping. There are a number of alms- houses and other charities. Weymouth has steam con nexion with the Channel Islands, France, and various ports on the English coast. In 1886 903 vessels of 105,824 tons entered the port, and 905 of 98,964 tons cleared. The principal exports are Portland stone, bricks and tiles, and provisions, and the imports are coal, timber, garden and dairy produce, and wine. Ship and boat building, rope and sail making, and brewing are carried on. The population of the municipal borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (area 763 acres) in 1871 was 13,259, and in 1881 it was 13,715. Both Weymouth and Melcombe Regis are very ancient. The port is supposed to have traded with Tyrian merchants before the arrival of the Romans. Various Roman remains, including pave ments and coins, have been found. Weymouth was the scene of Athelstau s vengeance on his half-brother Prince Edwin. It received a charter from Ethelred, which is preserved in Winchester cathedral. In the time of Edward the Confessor Weymouth and Melcombe were the property of the abbey of Cerne. In 1280 they formed a royal demesne and part of the dowry of Eleanor of Castile. Both Weymouth and Melcombe first returned members to parliament in the reign of Edward II. In 1347 they scut 20 ships and 264 men for the siege of Calais. Queen Margaret of Anjou landed at Weymouth 17th April 1471, and in 1506 Philip of Castile and his queen were driven into the port by stress of weather. In 1571 Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were united in one borough, under the title of&quot; mayor, aldermen, bailiff s, burgesses, and commonalty of the borough and town of Weymouth and Mel combe Regis.&quot; The town was the scene of repeated conflicts during the Civil War, having been taken by the Royalists 9th August 1641, and retaken in 1644 by the Parliamentary forces, who stoutly defended it against an attack of nine days duration in February of the following year. Originally the united borough sent four mem bers to parliament (the only other place returning the same number being the city of London), but in 1832 these were reduced to two, and in 1885 it ceased to be separately represented. Its importance as a watering-place dates from the time that George III. selected it as his favourite resort in the summer season. On 6th December 18S1 Weymouth was constituted a port, the limits to commence at St Alban s Head, the limit of the port of Poole, and to extend in a western direction along the coast to the western bank of the river Char, being the eastern limit of the port of Exeter, and to include the island of Portland. Among the representatives of the boroughs in parliament are Sir William Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania, and Sir Christopher Wren.