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Rothe House Garden
Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny
Family friendly
Cloudy days
The garden at Rothe House is a faithful recreation of the Rothe family garden as it would have appeared in the early 17th century, and house is an historic house in Kilkenny City and is the only example of an early 17th Century merchant’s town house.

Located in Kilkenny City, the Rothe House Garden is a recreation of a historic garden from the 17th Century. It is the only urban garden of this period which is open to the public.

The reconstruction was undertaken by the Kilkenny Archaeological Society and Rothe House Trust. The walled garden is divided in two parts. In the lower garden, vegetables and herbs that would have grown in the 17th Century are planted. These include deer tongue lettuce, scarlet runner beans, gortahork cabbage, mammoth leeks, lovage, borage and lady's bedstraw. Meanwhile, the upper garden contains a wide range of fruit trees, apple, medlar, quince and damson.

The apple varieties include blood of the boyne and scarlet crofton. Surrounding these functional plants, there are beautiful flowers, such as sweet rocket, calendula, rosa maidens blush and hollyhocks.

Tips from locals

Bring a little part of the Rothe House garden home with you. Look out for their popular plant sales during the year.

Safety Charter
Contact details
16 Parliament St, Gardens, Kilkenny, R95 P89C, Ireland
Visit duration

We recommend planning to spend 1 hour here.

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