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

A symmetrical two-storey three-bay late-Georgian mid-terrace townhouse built around 1800, located on the west side of Lisburn Street on the approach to Hillsborough town centre. Simply detailed and well-proportioned, the building retains an early appearance overall, though it has been subject to later alterations.

The building is rectangular on plan with a two-storey rubble stone return to the rear and a modern timber conservatory. The pitched natural slate roof is finished with blue and black angled ridge tiles, and features a rendered chimneystack with tall terracotta pots; a replacement brick chimneystack serves the rear return. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods are fitted throughout.

The principal elevation faces east. The main walling is painted roughcast render on a chamfered plinth. The east-facing front is three openings wide to each floor, featuring replacement 1/1 timber-framed sliding sash windows with horns and projecting masonry sills that are diminished to first-floor level. At the centre of the ground floor is a four flat-panelled timber door with brass door furniture set in a moulded surround. The rear (west) elevation is abutted to the left by the two-storey rubble stone return, which contains a replacement window at first-floor level. The rubble stone return has red-brick dressings. To the right, the modern timber conservatory abuts the rear elevation. Both the south and north elevations are abutted by adjoining buildings, with the northern neighbour recorded as HB19/05/057.

Access to the rear is via a gravelled driveway reached from a lane to the north.

The building forms part of an early nineteenth-century terrace and contributes to the historic character of Lisburn Street on the approach to Hillsborough town centre. It faces Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, dated 1833.

Historical Context

The house first appears on a map dated around 1800, where it is shown at the top end of Lisburn Street and occupied by James Hunter. Lisburn Street was the oldest part of Hillsborough, undergoing significant development between approximately 1800 and 1830, during which period many buildings on the northern section of the street were constructed. At that time the street was known as 'Great Newport Street' in reference to the construction of the Lagan Canal in the late eighteenth century. Number 54 was one of a number of earlier Georgian houses constructed in the mid to late eighteenth century, predating the later development of the street.

James Hunter continued to occupy the property according to the Townland Valuations of around 1830, which recorded the value of number 54 at £4 14 shillings. The Townland Valuation map and the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of 1833 depict the house as an oblong building already possessing the current two-storey rear return. Later editions of the Ordnance Survey show no discernible alteration to the layout of the house.

By 1861, James Hunter had been replaced by William McNally, who let the house from landlord Patrick McAteer at an annual rent of £8. The house was classed as 1B, valued at £6, and measured 8 by 2 yards, with the rear return measuring 6 by 4 feet. By 1864 the house had passed to Henry Lavery, who occupied it until 1876, when James Scott, a baker who operated a business from shop premises on Main Street, came into possession. Scott remained in occupation until around 1901, when James Nimmick, a general labourer and gardener, took possession.

The 1901 Census records that Nimmick, aged 35 and a Presbyterian labourer, lived at number 54 with his wife Alice, aged 36, and their daughter Lillie, aged 10. Both the 1901 and 1911 Census Building Returns describe the house as a second-class dwelling with between two and three inhabited rooms. The 1911 Census noted two stores as its sole outbuildings. James Nimmick continued to occupy the house until 1930. Since 1966, a modern conservatory has been added to the rear, and the windows have been replaced with timber sliding sash units. The building continues to be occupied as a private dwelling.