Rothe House is a late 16th-century merchant’s home built in 1594, consisting of three separate town houses, three enclosed courtyards and a newly restored garden to the rear. It was built between 1594 and 1610, by a wealthy Kilkenny merchant, John Rothe Fitzpiers. Rothe House was his family home and place of business, as he was an importer of fine cloths and silks from England and the continent. He lived here with his wife, Rose Archer, and their twelve children. The house and garden are privately owned by the Kilkenny Archaeological Society and are open to the public throughout the year. Rothe House is also home to the society’s vast collection of artefacts relating to life in Kilkenny, as well as its library. This contains a full collection of local newspapers,(since 1784), maps, family archives and books of local and national historic interest. Exhibitions frequently rotate to display the collection of artefacts. The Garden, which opened to the public in 2008, is a reconstruction of an early 17th-century Irish town garden, and includes a large orchard of fruit trees, complemented by a large vegetable and herb garden. The objective of the authentic planting design was to only use plants that would have been grown at the time as when the Rothe family lived here. Rothe House is the home to the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, a museum of local and national artefacts, and a private library that is open to both members and non-members, or online at www.kilkenny.brsgenealogy.com