Abstract

A number of the ruined, late medieval buildings at Ardglass (Co. Down) are discussed to consider the way in which commerce took place. It is argued that one building provided both lodgings and shops on the ground-floor from where the merchants’ good might be sold, and another served as a dining room for the visiting traders. The pattern of lodgings and shops can be compared to the booths occupied by merchants elsewhere in the North Atlantic operating a type of form of trade distinctive of that region.