'The Corporation for improving the Town and Harbour of Wexford' and that they have a common seal. He further proposed that they meet on June 24th at the Courthouse to appoint an office to be known at The Ballast Office of the Port of Wexford and to take an oath.
Such a corporation would have free power to " make, erect and build quays, wharfs and docks for the improvement of trade and benefit of shipping and to embank, sink, widen, deepen and cleanse the said Harbour of Wexford.''
Rates to be levied were:-
From the Master or Owner of Foreign ships -1 / = per ton.
From the Master or Owner of ships belonging to His
Majesty's subjects - 6d per ton.
From the Master or Owner of ships trading Coastways - 3d
per ton.
This would appear to be the beginning of major plans for the improvement of the port and also the origins of the Harbour
Commissioners or Harbour Board, which would oversee the
development of Wexford Harbour over the succeeding two
centuries.
Mr. Nevill proposed a second bill in February 1790. It was similar to the 1789 Bill except that the levy charges were not stated and H. Stanley Monck was added to the proposed Corporation. Three years later a third Bill was proposed by Mr. Nevill, this time adding a bridge over the Slaney to Ferrybank. In the 1793
Bill, the tolls are again stated and he adds that pilots should be appointed and the dredging of oysters between May 1st and September 1st be punished by a fine of £5 and seizure of boat and tackle.
A fourth Bill, in 1794 dealt more specifically with the bridge that was in fact completed in the following year and was paid for by subscription. It was a toll bridge and spanned the river in almost the same location as today's structure. It linked Ferrybank to Monck Street, which was formerly Ferry Boat Lane. The bridge reduced the livelihood of some Wexford sailors, i.e. those who had operated a ferry service at that point.
In 1798 Wexford once again entered armed conflict when, after some years of agrarian unrest and brutal military reprisal, the county erupted in rebellion. During that summer of 1798, Wexford's sailors had their part to play. A small 'republican' navy operated from the quays. Four oyster boats were fitted out and patrolled the outer harbour and four sloops were positioned ready to be scuttled in order to prevent British ships entering the port. The patrol boats constantly harassed shopping and, like the 'pirates' of the 1640's they were the lifeline for the towns inhabitants. For the most part, the provisions seized by the boats were the only food entering the town. It was one of these boats that captured Lord Kingsborough and brought him into the town.
One of the most notorious characters of the rebellion in Wexford was co-incidentally a sea captain.
Thomas Dixon is credited with being the instigator in the death of many innocent people.
From the horrors of 1798, the Port of Wexford moved forward and into an era of major expansion.
On the High Seas - The International Years
"Tis often I dream of the Wexford fleet with a stiff wind blowing fair With the anchor weighed and sails unfurled to the strains of some shanty air-Outward bound to some foreign clime, some strange land overseas, With a pressure of canvas drawing to the tune of a piping breeze. "
The eighteen hundreds saw Wexford develop into a vibrant port It was a century of progress throughout the town in general but more particularly on the seafront. Much of the modern quay front began to take shape in the early part of the century. Prior to that the many private wharfs and quays which were detailed in the 1640’s and which are echoed even today by the numerous laneways joining Main Street to the Quays catered for the needs of the town. It is said that the quays were built 10 feet above the low water mark.
The quays came under the control of the Quay Corporation, which had evolved along with the Bridge Corporation from the bodies proposed by Neville in the 1790's. This Quay Corporation was made up of the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, town clerk, port collector and members of Parliament for the town and county plus 36 others. It had the power to levy rates on vessels using the port and to use the monies so collected to improve and maintain the quays and harbour. It also controlled the pilotage in the harbour, the supply of piped water and it had responsibility for the cleansing of streets. It kept the avenues to the quays in good repair and by 1837 had a pilot establishment of 2 smacks, 2 sailboats and 2 row boats with a pilot station at Rosslare Fort.
An indication of the trade for which the Quay Corporation was responsible is given by this shipping list from the 'Wexford Herald' dated April 5th 1807.
'General Moore' to Dublin with barley and oats.
'Venus' to Liverpool with oats and barley.
'Good Intent' to Dublin with oats and barley.
'Peggy' to Dublin with barley.
'Eliza' to Dublin with barley.
'Frances' to Dublin with oats and flour.
'Hibernia' to Dublin with flour, malt and barley.
'Shileah' to Dublin with malt.
Arrivals in the port at the same period included-
'Odien' from Arundale with timber.
'Friendship' from Dublin with whiskey (this was 20
