ROTHE HOUSE, KILKENNY

                                                          ROTHE HOUSE

Rothe House is a medieval gem situated in the heart of Kilkenny city.  I visited the house last week as I was doing some research and was advised that Kilkenny Archaeological Society library was housed there.   I had often passed the beautiful exterior and imagined what lay inside.  I had no idea the amazing work the people of Kilkenny had contributed to this wonderful conservation. Rothe House Museum tells the story of business and family life in 17^th century Kilkenny.  John Rothe Fitz Piers was one of a dozen merchants who controlled Kilkenny’s trade and dominated its civic government from late Middle Ages to the 17^th century.  

FIRST FLOOR WHERE ROTHE FAMILY LIVED

                  BEAUTIFULLY RECONSTRUCTED CEILING ON SECOND FLOOR

The site contains three houses separated by small courtyards.  When you enter the first house through arches from Parliament Street you observe where John Rothe carried out his business as a silk merchant.  John Rothe married Rose Archer, the daughter of another influential Kilkenny family, and had twelve children with her.  Their eldest son Peter was born in 1590 followed by eight daughters and three sons. The family lived in rooms upstairs over the business and these rooms are authentically reconstructed and give an idea how the family lived in luxury compared to ordinary people of Kilkenny.  John Rothe was mayor of Kilkenny in 1613 and when he died in 1620 his son Peter inherited the bulk of his estate.  Unfortunately, when Cromwell arrived in Kilkenny in 1649 Peter was banished to Connaught and his property confiscated.

Crossing from the first floor of the first house on a reconstructed medieval wooden platform you enter the first floor of the second house.  This house was completed in 1604 and included additional family living space.  This building now houses an exhibition. Crossing a second small courtyard you enter the third house which was completed in 1610 and included a large kitchen on the ground floor with a large hearth and bake oven as well as additional rooms on the first and second floors.  The small library is situated upstairs in this building and I spent a pleasant couple of hours leafing through ancient dusty manuscripts.   The library is open to the public and is good value to join at €30 per annum.   

                                HERB AND VEGETABLE GARDEN ROTHE HOUSE

Behind the third house were gardens which contained an orchard, herb and vegetable gardens, a pigeon house, a well, and a summer house at the far end.  Today the gardens are planted with vegetables, herbs and orchards that would have been used by the family four hundred years ago.  As it was a beautiful day I sat in the summer sunshine and soaked up the atmosphere.  I felt like I was on a set of a Shakespearean play and expected Rosalind and Orlando to appear any minute from the lower garden.  The site must have been a very pleasant family home for a dozen children.   There are myriads of nooks and crannies for children to play hide and seek.  Rothe House is worth a visit when in Kilkenny as it is the only medieval townhouse and gardens in Ireland open to the public. 
 


MEDIEVAL HERBS SUCH AS HYSSOP AND BORAGE PLANTED IN THE GARDEN

            A LARGE HEARTH WAS ADDED TO THE THIRD HOUSE IN 1610


ANCIENT WELL IN ONE OF THE COURTYARDS