Rothe House:
Rothe House was built between 1594 and 1610 by John Rothe Fitz Piers. His family, along with ten or so other wealthy families completely controlled the trade and government of Kilkenny City from the late Middle ages to the 17th century. The house was built in three parts, which Rothe referred to as the first, second and third houses. The first building was completed in 1594. It had a ground floor merchant's shop with family, living and sleeping quarters on the first and second floors. The second house was finished in 1604. It was built to provide extra living space for the family.
The Third House:
The third house, which was completed in 1610 included a new kitchen on the ground floor. The kitchen had a new hearth and a bake oven. Extra rooms on the first and second floors were also added. The gardens of Rothe House were found at the rear of the third structure. There were orchards, a pigeon house, a well, herb and vegetable gardens and a Summer house found here.
The Rothe Family:
John Rothe was a very active politician and he served as mayor of Kilkenny in 1613. He was married to Rose Archer, who came from another important Kilkenny family. They had 12 children with Peter their first-born in 1590. Following John's death in 1620 his son Peter inherited most of his estate. In October 1642, Rothe House hosted a meeting with all the Catholic Bishops of Ireland present. The outcome of this meeting was the setting up of The Confederacy (where Ireland had self-government between 1641 and and Cromwell's arrival in 1649). The Rothe family paid dearly for their links with the Confederacy. The house was confiscated and the Rothe family were exiled to Connaught in 1653. The house was returned to the Rothes in 1660 after the restoration of Charles II. Rothe House finally passed from the family in 1691.
Roof Beams in Rothe House:
Recent History:
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, the house was home to the Gaelic League or Conradh na Gaeilge. Thomas Mc Donagh, a signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, taught here in 1903. In 1962 Rothe House was purchased by the Kilkenny Archaeological Society as the headquarters of the Society and as a place to exhibit its collection of artefacts. In 2004 the Society formed the Rothe House Trust to manage the house as a museum of John Rothe’s life and times, and as an exhibit museum of Kilkenny history. The garden at Rothe House is a faithful recreation of the Rothe family garden. Our gardeners restored it as it would have appeared in the early 17th century. Rothe House garden is now the only urban garden of this period which is open to the public. The long, walled burgage plot runs from the rear of John Rothe’s mansion on Parliament Street to the city wall. Archaeological excavations in 2008 uncovered the original layout of the garden. Even the seeds and pollen of the plants of the 17th century were discovered.* The plants and trees that now grow in the garden are the same varieties that would have been grown by the Rothes:
The Cache:
The cache itself is placed across the street from Rothe House in the surrounds of another historical building. It is not in or on the grounds of the house. Please note you that are in an area of high pedestrian traffic, high tourist traffic and high CCTV camera saturation, although no camera points directly at the cache. Also directly across from ground zero is the exit from the local shopping center car park. This is traffic light controlled so stationary cars will be looking towards you. In other words be stealthy and most of all, enjoy the cache.