placenamesWells
Tobar Scoilbín
Wells House and its grounds preserve a substantial nineteenth-century estate shaped by architect Daniel Robertson and the Doyne family.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Tobar Scoilbín · Irish · main form · validated name
- Wells · English · main form
Place & story
Rebuilding Wells House
Wells House was rebuilt between 1836 and 1845 to designs by Daniel Robertson. The large residence follows an H-shaped plan, with projecting gabled bays and a central entrance feature. Red brick contrasts with grey granite dressings, clustered chimneys and small decorative gables. The architectural inventory identifies surviving early window glass, interior joinery, fireplaces and patterned ceilings among its notable fabric. [2]
The Doyne estate
The house’s history is closely associated with the Doynes. Robert Stephen Doyne served as High Sheriff of County Wexford in 1835, while later family members Charles Mervyn Doyne and Robert Wentworth Doyne held the same office. The estate included a stable yard, walled garden and gate lodge. These service buildings and grounds placed the residence within a much larger working and designed landscape. [2]
Restoring the gardens
The estate’s account dates Robertson’s garden work to 1835–1838, when he introduced terraces, a radiating parterre, an arboretum and the main avenue. Recent restoration has drawn on his original plans. The surviving layout connects the house with its approaches and planting, while the public gardens allow visitors to experience elements of the nineteenth-century design beyond the mansion itself. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Wexford
- Barony
- Ballaghkeen North
- Civil parish
- Kilnamanagh
- Within
- Wells
- Coordinates
- 52.53591, -6.34920 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413900 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Wells. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Wells House, NIAH 15702132 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Wells House and Gardens: garden history and restoration · Wells House and Gardens
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.