Milestone, 33 Main Street, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6AE

Free-standing stone and iron milestone, erected around 1825 and positioned in the footpath against the facade of No. 33 Main Street in Hillsborough. The milestone is constructed of tooled granite with a pointed top and bears a cast-iron plaque inscribed: Dublin, 70, Dromore, 4, Lisburn, 3. The stone currently leans against the stone facade on the west side of Main Street, situated between Nos. 31 and 33.

The milestone was established by the Irish Post Office under an Act of Parliament in 1805, set up along the stage coach roads between Belfast and Dublin when this stretch of Main Street was a major travel route. Notably, the milestone does not record the distance to Belfast. The distances shown were measured in old Irish miles, which were one-fifth longer than English miles. Although Irish miles were abolished under the Weights and Measures Act of 1824, the Irish Post Office continued using this measurement system until 1856. Milestones of this type are now very rare in Ulster; this particular post was probably erected in 1824 when the road was restored.

The stone appears in the Annual Revision maps of the area from 1877 to 1903, where it is recorded as a 'mile post'. Before the town was bypassed by the Hillsborough Road, Main Street formed part of a principal route between Belfast and Dublin, giving the milestone significant historical importance as a surviving marker of this postal and transport infrastructure. The milestone is situated within Hillsborough conservation area.