Bride Street

Bride Street in Wexford Town runs from South Main Street to Thomas Street and Joseph Street. It is best known for its church, the Church of the Assumption and St Michael.

The street gets its name from the old parish of St Bridget, also called St Bride’s. An Ordnance Survey map from the 19th century shows that St Bridget’s Church stood close to where Bride Street Church is today. By the 19th century, the church was in ruins.

Bride Street
The lower end of Bride Street, where it connects with South Main Street. The yellow building on the right is home to St Patrick’s Fife and Drum Band. The large red building in the distance housed Colman Doyle Homestores, a furniture store that closed in 2020. On the left, just before the red car, is the entrance to Mary’s Lane. This photograph was taken at the entrance to Bride Street car park in November 2014.

In the vicinity of the former St Bridget’s Church, archaeologists have uncovered significant remains. Archaeological excavations in Bride Street in 1988 uncovered the foundations of fifteen post and wattle houses dating from the early 11th to the late 13th or early 14th century. The dig also revealed evidence of iron working, carpentry, shoemaking, comb making, bone working, spinning, weaving, and quern making. Other findings included a Viking bone pendant dating back to 1000 AD. An earlier excavation in the early 1980s at the junction between Bride Street and Clifford Street uncovered fragments of medieval cooking ware.

Bride’s Gate, a stone gateway that provided public access to the walled town of Wexford, also stood on this street. This gate would have stood at the top of the Bride Street car park, running across the road to the corner of Clifford Street (beside St. Brigids Community Playgroup).

Bride Street, Wexford
Looking up towards the top of Bride Street. In the far distance stand the gates of the Church of the Assumption. The blue building to the right is St. Brigids Community Playgroup, another reference to the old Norse-Irish parish.

Architect Richard Pierce (1801 to 1854) designed the Church of the Assumption and St Michael. A noted Gothic Revival architect, he had previously worked as clerk of works for Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. The church opened on 18 April 1858 and is one of Wexford’s twin churches. The foundation stones of the twin churches were laid in 1851.

The street was also home to the Convent of Perpetual Adoration to the Most Holy Sacrament (commonly known as the Adoration Convent). The nuns moved into the building on 1 May 1887. The last seven sisters departed in November 2019, and Wexford County Council subsequently bought the building for conversion to student accommodation.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records families such as Cleary, Kehoe, and Walsh living on Bride Street. A few examples:

  • 1 Bride Street: Nicholas Cleary was a sailor who lived at 1 Bride Street. He was a 65-year-old widower who lived with his 42-year-old son and his 32-year-old daughter. His son Patrick was a labourer on Wexford Quay. His daughter Mary was a housekeeper. He could read but he could not write.
  • 2 Bride Street: Nine members of the Kehoe family lived in 2 Bride Street. The father, Charles Kehoe, was a 36-year-old harbour policeman. The mother, Elizabeth Kehoe, was a 38-year-old housekeeper. They had five sons and two daughters. Their eldest child, 13-year-old William Kehoe, appears as a telegraph messenger.
  • 3 Bride Street: Nine members of the Walsh family lived in 3 Bride Street. The father, John Walsh, was a 44-year-old dock labourer. The mother, Eliza Walsh, is recorded as ‘Mistress of the house.’ They had two daughters and five sons. Their 21-year-old daughter Mary was a servant. Their 18-year-old son James was a sailor. Their 16-year-old son Patrick appears as a labourer.

Map

A map showing its location:

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