Hillside, Ballystockart Road, Ballystockart, Comber, Co. Down, BT23 5PP

Hillside is a substantial two-storey gabled farmhouse built in 1840, now derelict and in poor condition. The building stands on a slight rise at the end of a long lane to the west of Ballystockart Road, approximately two miles north-west of Comber, County Down.

The south-facing front facade is symmetrical. At ground floor level, a central doorway is surrounded by a sandstone pilaster frame with a lintel featuring a keystone and cornice, though the door itself is missing. To the left and right of this doorway are two window openings, three of which no longer contain any frames. The opening immediately to the right of the doorway retains remnants of a sash frame with Georgian panes. The first floor has five smaller windows, four with frame remnants similar to those below. The east gable contains one window opening at ground floor level and two at first floor level, none of which retain frames. The west gable is blank. A small two-level gabled return projects from the right of centre at the rear. On the east side of this return, there is a ground floor doorway, a window opening, and a tiny window to the upper level with remnants of a sash frame. The west side has a single ground floor window. The main rear facade contains a window at ground floor level at the far left and one at the far right, with two windows to the first floor on the left and centre, and what appears to be another at the far right, though this area is obscured by vegetation.

The front facade and gables are finished in rough cast. The rear is largely unrendered, revealing sandstone rubble and brick construction beneath. A crude datestone on the east gable reads 'T-M, Y AD 1840'. The roof has lost almost all of its slates, exposing the timbers, and the main chimney stacks have collapsed, although the stack serving the gabled return has survived. Substantial remains of a large collection of outbuildings lie to the rear, now in ruins. A small stable block has recently been constructed beyond these outbuildings, and a covered well is located to the rear.

Historical records indicate that whilst a building occupied this site in 1834 according to the Ordnance Survey map, it does not appear in contemporary valuation records, suggesting it was probably a humble single-storey dwelling. The present house was built in 1840, likely by a family named Murphy, whose initials 'M,Y' appear on the datestone. The Murphys held most of the farmland in the immediate area during this period and owned the large house to the south, then named Hillhead, now much altered and known as Standfield House. The building was marked as 'Hillside' on the 1858 Ordnance Survey map. By 1863, it was in the possession of John Gracey, at which time it had a rateable value of £6. When surveyed in November 1973, the building was already derelict.