Lewis's Topographical Dictionary - Waterford City

The ancient COUNTY of the CITY, or present parliamentary borough, from the peculiar situation of the town on the northern confines of the county of Waterford, was made to include a portion of land on the north of the river Suir, formerly belonging to the county of Kilkenny; and by the charter of Charles I., the boundaries comprise the great port and river up to Carrick, that part of the county of Kilkenny contained in the parish of Kilculliheen, all the lands on the opposite bank of the river in the parishes of Kilbarry and Killoteran, and the town of Passage; comprehending together 9683 statute acres, of which several hundred acres are occupied by the city and suburbs.

The rural districts present no great peculiarity of character: the northern part chiefly consists of high grounds, commanding fine views of the city; and on the opposite side, especially on the banks of the river above the city, are some elevated lands, except near the course of John's river, where is an extensive level of marshy land.

The prevailing substratum is argillaceous schistus, with silicious breccia near the summits of the hills, over which red sandstone frequently occurs: sienite and hornblende are found at Kilronan; talcous slate near Knockhouse; lydian stone on the road to Annestown; hornstone and jasper, alternating with flinty slate, in the same neighbourhood; and serpentine, resting on a blueish-black quartzose rock, at Knockhouse. The face of Bilberry rock, over the river Suir, above the city, pre-sents a very interesting section, in which, in addition to the above-named minerals, are veins of quartz, com-prising a considerable quantity of micaceons iron-ore and scalygraphite, both passing into oxyde of iron and jasper, and in some places forming, with the quartz, a beautiful jaspery iron-stone; brown crystallised quartz, with minute crystals of chlorite; red ochre in abundance; sulphate of barytes; oxyde of titanium; bituminous shale; talcous slate; and arsenieurate of iron.