Gardener's House, Hillsborough Castle, The Square, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6AG

The Gardener's House at Hillsborough Castle is a two-storey, five-bay rendered cottage dated 1841, situated within the castle demesne on a corner site at Moira Road overlooking the walled garden complex. It is Grade B2 listed.

The building is rectangular on plan, facing north-west with a pitched natural slate roof (reconstructed c.1992) topped with black clay ridge tiles and three redbrick chimney stacks with black pots. Original cast-iron rainwater goods are mounted on iron brackets. The rendered walls are painted with ruled and lined detailing and render quoins. Square-headed window openings have painted masonry sills and replacement 3/6 timber sash windows. The principal north-west elevation is asymmetrical and five windows wide. An original off-centre timber-frame entrance porch features a natural slate roof, decorative bargeboard and finial, with replacement timber lattice-work on a low rendered wall. The replacement timber panelled door has glazed upper panels and is set within a smooth render surround, opening into the porch which is paved with octagonal clay tiles. The north gable has a single slender window with a replacement 2/4 timber sash window. A tall rubblestone screen wall abuts the north gable, incorporating an elliptical redbrick carriage arch and replacement timber sheeted gate.

The south-west rear elevation, also five windows wide, is abutted by a single-storey conservatory. A square-headed door opening with moulded architrave surround contains a replacement timber panelled and glazed door opening onto a paved rear patio. The south gable is abutted by a two-storey L-plan extension built c.1992, which imitates the details of the main house with pitched natural slate roofs and a pair of dormer windows over elliptical-headed garage doors.

The building was extensively renovated c.1992. Although much original joinery was lost during this period, the insertion of appropriate replacements and reuse of some surviving elements has retained much of the original character. The house lay derelict for many years prior to refurbishment.

The setting is marked by red circular sandstone gate piers with domed capstones on Moira Road. The private entrance is accessed via another pair of replacement iron gates on circular red sandstone piers with domed capstones, one inscribed with the date 1841, reached from a shared gravel driveway with no.18. Granite setts pave the entire front and south of the site. A tall rubblestone wall encloses the rear garden, flush to the rear elevation.

Historically, the house is documented by an inscribed gate pier dated 1841 and first appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1858, uncaptioned. Griffith's Valuation records it as the 'Gardener's House, office and land', initially valued at £4 rising by stages to £6 10s., held by the Marquess of Downshire in fee with no resident occupant listed. The third Marquess was undertaking alterations to the castle at this time to designs by William Sands, and the gardener's house appears to have been part of these improvements. The Marquess of Downshire is listed as occupier in most fieldbooks, with a single exception in 1884 when a gardener named William Lee is recorded as resident. The property passed to Sir Thomas Dixon in 1910 and subsequently to the Ministry of Finance when the estate was purchased as a residence for the Governor of Northern Ireland in 1922. Living quarters were installed over the garage in 2001.

The house has group value with the other listed structures at Hillsborough Castle and contributes significantly to the intact appearance of this part of the demesne. It sits within a conservation area.