What it is
John Rothe Fitz-Piers built the house for his family of twelve children, and it is the only complete merchant's house of its period surviving in Ireland. The rooms hold the Kilkenny Archaeological Society's collection of costume, furniture and local finds, and a genealogy centre for tracing Kilkenny ancestors. The walled garden behind grows only plants known in Ireland by 1640.
The garden alone is worth the visit on a fine day.
Getting there by bus
The house is on Parliament Street, halfway along the Medieval Mile, ten minutes' walk from the castle. Buses along Parliament Street stop directly outside (Parliament St stop).
The Smithwick's Experience is across the street and the Black Abbey two minutes away.
