2 The Square, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6AG

2 The Square, Hillsborough

This mid-terrace single-bay two-storey rendered former house was built around 1780 on the east side of The Square, forming one of a pair with No. 1 The Square. The building is rectangular on plan, facing west, with several extensions added to the rear between 1990 and 2005.

The structure has a pitched natural slate roof with black clay ridge tiles and a rebuilt large redbrick chimneystack shared with No. 1. Cast-iron guttering on iron brackets runs beneath a convex eaves course, with a cast-iron downpipe. The walling is ruled-and-lined cement rendered. Window openings are square-headed with painted masonry sills and timber sash windows. The front elevation is three windows wide, with replacement 6/6 timber sash windows to the first floor and original 6/6 timber sash windows to the ground floor featuring exposed sash boxes, no horns, and some cylinder glass. An off-centre square-headed door opening contains replacement double-leaf timber glazed doors. The north side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building, and the east rear elevation is largely obscured by late twentieth-century extensions. The south side elevation is abutted by No. 3, which incorporates a square-headed carriage arch providing rear access to Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

The building appears on an estate map of 1788, though an earlier map of 1777 shows no buildings on this side of the square. An estate map of around 1800 identifies the house and notes it as the residence of someone named Megarry. The Townland Valuation (1828-40) records it as the residence of Charles Adams, valued at £9.16s. In Griffith's Valuation (1856-64), the property is initially listed as owned by the Marquess of Downshire in fee, then as the residence of Robert Manning, who leased from the Marquess. Valuations ranged from £10.5s to £9.10s, with dimensions given for a house and basement. The Marquess's brief ownership may indicate remodelling or rebuilding work in the mid-nineteenth century.

In 1878, the house became the Hillsborough Reading Room under caretaker Joseph Beatty, with the Marquess receiving a rent of £4. No further reference to it as a reading room exists after 1881, when Joseph K Beatty is listed as the occupier. Historical records indicate the Reading Room, located "on the Main Street near the top of the hill", operated from 1876 until just before the First World War, supplying inhabitants with access to daily press and periodicals. The house remained in the Beatty family for some years, passing to Jane Beatty in 1929.

Renovations occurred throughout the 1980s, and a rear extension was built in 1995. The building sustained extensive fire damage in June 2007, resulting in the loss of most historic fabric.

The front elevation retains its eighteenth-century character and contributes significantly to the Hillsborough Conservation Area. The rest of the building is largely modern, having been substantially altered during the latter part of the twentieth century and particularly following the 2007 fire. The building sits as part of a terrace of similar houses on the east side of Main Street as it joins The Square, overlooking the former Market House and Hillsborough Castle.