Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB19/05/045 B

Address :
Blessington House 18 Ballynahinch Street Hillsborough County Down BT26 6AW

Townland:
Hillsborough

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Survey 2:
B+

Date of Listing:
01/12/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
184/5NE

IG Ref:
J2445 5894

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Mid terrace four-bay two-storey late eighteenth century rendered townhouse, with entrance portico and front railed area. Rectangular on plan, facing south with two-storey return to west and canted stairhall projection to the east. Pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and a pair of off-centre rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron guttering on shaped iron brackets to ogee-moulded sandstone eaves course and cast-iron hopper and downpipe. Ruled and lined lime rendered walling with rusticated sandstone quoins and projecting sandstone plinth course. Square-headed window openings with moulded architrave surrounds, sandstone sills and original timber sash windows. Front south elevation is five windows wide with the southernmost bay incorporated within the lower ridge of the adjoining house No.16 (HB19/05/045A) and prostyle Ionic sandstone portico to the easternmost bay. 6/3 timber sash windows to the first floor, 6/6 to the ground floor with some cylinder glass. Portico comprises two pairs of Ionic columns supporting architrave, and full entablature with corresponding Doric pilasters at the plane of the façade. Three-centred arched door opening with moulded archivolt and original timber door having four raised and fielded panels and brass furniture, flanked by sidelights and slender pilasters with Greek key motifs on sandstone base and supporting moulded lintel cornice with glazed fanlight and margin lights over. Door opens into sandstone flagged portico with pair of wrought-iron bootscrapers. Small concrete paved front area enclosed by decorative cast-iron railings on low stone plinth wall with an incoporated wrought-iron lamp standard. West side elevation abutted by adjoining building No.16 (HB19/95/045A). Rear elevation abutted by two-storey canted stairhall projection to the east and two-storey gable-ended return to the west. Double-height round-headed 8/12 timber sash window to the stairhall, largely 6/6 to the remainder including an early 6/6 timber sash window with exposed sash box. To the centre is a square-headed door opening having raised and fielded panelled door and sidelights. To the re-entrant angle of the return is a diminutive projection with natural slate roof. Rear entrance opens onto rear yard with some original cobbles. Further square-headed door opening to the return with original sheeted timber door. East side elevation abutted by adjoining building No.20 (HB19/05/045C). Setting: Forming part of a terrace of three similar houses lining the north side of Ballynahinch Street. Access to the rear is through a carriage arch to screen wall abutting the east gable of adjoining house No.20 (HB19/05/045C) with a two-storey rendered former outbuilding, now converted to residential use with its rear elevation enclosing the rear cobbled yard. Roof Natural slate RWG Cast-iron Walling Lime render over rubble Windows Timber sash

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

No. 18 Ballynahinch Street first appears on a map of Hillsborough c.1800 where it is depicted as a large oblong building (also incorporating the adjoining No. 20 Ballynahinch Street (HB19/05/045C). The 1833 Ordnance Survey map of Hillsborough shows that Blessington House possessed a large L-shaped rear return and a number of out offices. The contemporary Townland Valuation (1830s) recorded that a Mr. William Edmond Reilly occupied the house which was valued at £34. William Edmond Reilly was the last MP to sit for the Hillsborough Constituency in the Irish Parliament when it was dissolved in 1801 under the Act of Union. In 1843 the Ulster Towns Directory tells us that he occupied the post of Deputy-Lieutenant for Co. Down and also served as a Justice of the Peace in Hillsborough (Ulster Towns Directory – 1843); his gravestone states that he was the ‘confidential friend and agent to the third Marquis of Downshire for the long period of 41 years during which time he gained the real esteem and respect of all by his kindness, urbanity and unflinching integrity’ (Gravestone Inscriptions, p. 88). In 1861 Nos. 18 - 20 Ballynahinch Street was still recorded as one dwelling valued at £54. but was then occupied by a Mr. Fitzherbert Filgate, also a Justice of the Peace for Hillsborough and a Trustee for the North East Agricultural Association of Ireland (Ulster Towns Directory – 1880). Griffith’s Valuation records that Nos. 18 – 20 measured 25 yds by 5 yds and possessed a large number of out offices which were situated in the courtyard to the rear. The second edition of the Ordnance Survey (1858) shows little change to the layout of the building; it was not until 1871 that the house was split into two separate dwellings under a new occupant, Major Henry Stanley McClintock (1812-1898). Major McClintock served with the Royal Horse Artillery and Antrim Artillery (a militia unit) and later became a Justice of the Peace for Co. Down (The peerage.com). In 1871 the house was split, No. 18 being used as premises for the Hillsborough Woollen Co. now valued at £26. whilst No. 20 was taken over by the Northern Bank Co. No. 18 was briefly occupied by the Rev. J. Moorhead in 1888 and Samuel R. Robinson in 1893. A Ms. Charlotte Payne occupied the house in 1897 and resided there until her death in 1911. The 1901 census tell us that Payne (70) occupied No. 18 Ballynahinch Street with her two daughters and son Henry William Payne who worked in the adjoining Northern Bank. The building return records that the house was a 1st class dwelling consisting of 13 inhabited rooms but did not possess any out offices at that time. By 1911 Henry Payne was recorded as the occupant of the house after his mother’s death in that year. He continued to live at No. 18 until 1920 when a Mr. Charles A. Horsburgh came into possession, living there until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1930. Barry tells us that Nos. 18 – 20 Ballynahinch Street was constructed c.1780 as a residence of suitable grandeur for the Marquis of Downshire’s agent (Barry, pp 39-40). The design of Blessington House was based on a similar building (the Downshire Hotel) in Blessington Co. Wicklow, part of a seperate estate inherited by the first Marquis of Downshire in 1778. Walker tells us that the Marquis of Downshire considered demolishing Blessington House in order to alter the course of the street. After 1870 the official residence of the Agent was moved to Kilwarlin House on Lisburn Street (Walker). Brett suggests that Nos. 18 and 20 were always intended as separate dwellings (although they were valued as one residence until 1871), Blessington house being used by the Agent and the other by his sub-agent (Brett, p. 22). The Manager of the adjoining Northern Bank occupied Blessington house as late as the 1970s. The house was listed in 1976 and between 1978 and 1990 a number of renovations were carried out on the building; in 2005 the front elevation was fully restored (NIEA File). Blessington Houses’ former servants quarters have been converted into a separate dwelling, currently occupied by the owners parents. References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI D671/M/8/25 – Hillsborough Map c.1800 2. PRONI D671/M/8/57/1 – Hillsborough Illustrated Map 1803 3. PRONI VAL/1/B/344 A-B – Townland Valuations 1834 4. PRONI VAL/1/D/3/5 – Town Plan 1834 5. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834 6. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1858 7. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-1903 8. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920 9. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation 1861 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908 13. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928 14. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930 15. Ulster Towns Directory (1843; 1910) Secondary Sources 1. Barry, J., ‘Hillsborough: A parish in the Ulster plantation’ (3rd ed.), Belfast, Universities Press., 1982. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the towns and villages of Mid Down: Hillsborough, Dromore, Dromara, Ballynahinch, the Spa, Drumaness and Saintfield’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1974. 3. Walker, S., ‘Hillsborough: An illustrated history and companion’ Belfast: Cottage Publications, 1994). 4. NIEA File – HB19/05/045B. Online Resources 1. http://thepeerage.com

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

V. Authorship X. Local Interest R. Age S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Mid terrace four-bay two-storey late eighteenth-century rendered townhouse, with entrance portico and front railed area. Formerly part of a single large house with Nos. 16A/16B (HB19/05/045A) and 20 (HB19/05/045C) Ballynahinch Street, built as a residence for the Marquis of Downshire’s agent, the house exhibits fine Georgian proportions. Distinguished by its Ionic portico, forming one of the main focal points of the street, it also retains its decorative railings and wall mounted street lamp. Retaining a wealth of original fabric both internally and externally and with its historical connections to the Downshire Estate, the house makes a significant contribution to the architectural and historic heritage of Hillsborough.

General Comments

Please note this record has been renumbered it was previously recorded as HB19/05/045 Listing Criteria R & S also apply.

Date of Survey

01 October 2010