56 Lisburn Street, Hillsborough, County Down, BT26 6AB

A symmetrical two-storey three-bay late-Georgian mid-terrace rendered townhouse built around 1800, located on the west side of Lisburn Street in Hillsborough town centre. The building forms part of an important early nineteenth-century terrace and sits facing Hillsborough Presbyterian Church (dated 1833) on the approach to the town centre.

The house is rectangular on plan with a double-height return to the rear. It is covered by a pitched natural slate roof with blue and black angled ridge tiles, and has rendered chimneystacks with tall terracotta pots. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods serve the building. The walling is ruled-and-lined render.

The principal elevation faces east and is three bays wide. The centre bay contains a replacement glazed-and-panelled timber door in a smooth rendered surround, accessed by a single stone step. Windows throughout are replacement 1/1 timber-framed sliding sash with horns and projecting masonry sills. The south elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. The west elevation has timber-sheeted doors to the left of centre with a modern timber window above, and to the right is a modern timber door accessed by six masonry steps with a small modern window beside it. This elevation also features four small modern timber windows on the south-facing section. The north elevation is abutted by the adjoining building.

The property has a gravelled driveway to the rear accessed via a lane to the north.

Historical Development

The building first appears on a map of Hillsborough dating to around 1800, depicted as an oblong building with a rear return at the top end of Lisburn Street and then occupied by a Mr J Magoveny. Lisburn Street underwent substantial development between 1800 and 1830 when many buildings on the northern portion of the street were constructed. During this period, Lisburn Street was known as Great Newport Street, a name arising from the construction of the Lagan Canal in the late eighteenth century. Number 56 was among the earlier Georgian houses constructed in the mid to late eighteenth century, predating the main development of the street.

The layout of the site remained unchanged from the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps (1833) onwards, continuing to show the house with its double-height rear return. The Townland Valuation map of around the 1830s valued the property at £4 16 shillings and recorded it as being in the possession of Mr Thomas Stewart. By the time of Griffith's Valuation in 1861, ownership had passed to Mr Robert Smyth and Edward Ferrans, who occupied the site jointly. The valuer described the two-storey property as a class 1B dwelling measuring 8½ by 6 yards with a two-storey rear return of 7 by 4½ yards, valued at £5 in total. Both men had vacated by 1864 when Mr William Dorman came into possession. Dorman remained resident until his death around 1887, when the house passed to his widow, who occupied it until around 1890.

Mr Thomas Beatty then took possession of the property. The Ulster Towns Directory records him as a car owner in 1901 and later as a pork cutter in 1910. The 1901 Census shows Beatty, aged 42 and a widower, residing at number 56 with his three daughters, the eldest of whom, Agnes Beatty, aged 19, was employed as a dressmaker. The 1911 Census Building Return describes the house as a second-class private dwelling with five inhabited rooms and two store rooms as its only outoffices. By 1911, two of Beatty's daughters had left home, and he lived with his daughter Agnes, her husband Joseph Portland (aged 30, an Army pensioner), and their newborn son Thomas Portland. Thomas Beatty continued as occupant until 1913 when Joseph Portland was recorded as lessor, though by 1918 Agnes Portland was noted as the sole occupant in the Annual Revisions. Joseph Portland does not appear again in subsequent valuations. Agnes Portland continued to be recorded as occupant of number 56 Lisburn Street until the Annual Revisions ended in 1930.

Since the fourth edition of the Ordnance Survey map (1919–1920), there has been no significant alteration to the site. The building continues to be used as a private dwelling. The property lies within a conservation area. Although of interest as part of the early nineteenth-century street character, the building is not considered of special architectural or historical interest for listing purposes, principally due to replacement windows and front door.