Wexford Harbour was a busy trading port that exported goods such as beef, herrings, butter, corn, beer, hides, and tallow. At the end of the 18th century, it was Ireland’s sixth busiest port.
Today’s Wexford Quay has been built on land reclaimed over the centuries. Crescent Quay, Paul Quay, and Commercial Quay are all artificial constructs that began to appear in the early 1800s. All were built on reclaimed areas that were once part of Wexford Harbour. The shoreline once extended as far as Henrietta Street and Anne Street. During construction work on Anne Street in the 1800s, workers uncovered what was once a sandy shoreline beneath the surface.
A change in tidal flows occurred after a major land reclamation project was completed in the mid-1800s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LSy0gUb480
This change in tidal flows led to a build-up of sand and clay, known as silt, which made the harbour difficult for ships to navigate. Although local authorities made several attempts to address the issue, the silting of Wexford Harbour continued.
In the 1860s, the Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford Railway lodged an application to build a railway line along the quays of Wexford Town. The application was granted on the basis that the company would build an alternative quay-front to load and unload ships. This led to the construction of Wexford’s wooden works. The new railway line also led to the construction of a bridge across Wexford’s Crescent Quay.
Between 1866 and 1959, no bridge connected the quay-front with Ferrybank, as the older wooden bridge had been demolished. During this period, a bridge connected Redmond Road on the northern side of the town with Riverside in Crosstown. The bridge’s entrance now serves Wexford Boat Club. At the time, a man in a small rowing boat provided a ferry between the quay and Ferrybank. The ferry sailed between two piers, which were located where the two entry points to Wexford Bridge are today.
Until the early 1920s, the quay was home to the Wexford Courthouse, which stood directly across from the town side entrance of Wexford Bridge. From 1899 to 1920, the building also served as the headquarters for Wexford County Council. On 18 June 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the IRA set fire to the courthouse, completely gutting it. The building remained derelict for decades before authorities demolished it in the early 1960s. A petrol station later occupied the site. In modern times, the area serves as a car park and advertising billboard location.
By the 1950s, Wexford Harbour had ceased to be a viable port. In 1968, the local economy declined when the quays closed to commercial traffic. Today, the port is mostly used by mussel dredgers and private vessels.
By the 1990s, the wooden works had fallen into disrepair. The Main Drainage Scheme demolished them and replaced them with a modern waterfront plaza and an accompanying marina.
