32 Main Street, Hillsborough, County Down, BT26 6AE

32 Main Street, Hillsborough

A well-proportioned and detailed mid-terrace two-bay three-storey redbrick building built around 1780, located on the east side of Main Street at its junction with The Square in Hillsborough. The building displays a characteristic angled front elevation marking the transition from Main Street to The Square. Both interior and exterior retain a substantial proportion of original fabric, and the textured handmade redbrick facade contributes significantly to the building's character. It occupies an important position within Hillsborough conservation area.

The building is rectangular on plan, facing west, with an angled front elevation and an integral carriage arch to the south bay. A two-storey rendered return extends to the rear. The ground floor is in commercial use. The pitched natural slate roof has black clay ridge tiles and follows the angled line of the front elevation. A redbrick chimneystack rises from the north gable with clay pots; rainwater goods and timber fascia are replacements.

The redbrick walling is laid in English garden wall bond with cement pointing to front and rear. The return features painted render walling. Window openings are square-headed with brick flat-arches, painted masonry sills, and replacement 6/6 timber sash windows with exposed sash boxes.

The front west elevation is three windows wide. A central painted neo-classical doorcase features a square-headed door opening with replacement timber glazed door and rectangular overlight, flanked by a pair of flat-panelled pilasters supporting a plain frieze and drip cornice, carried on a series of console brackets. The carriage arch is elliptical-headed, formed in redbrick with a pair of vertically-sheeted timber doors. Above the arch is a window opening with a further elliptical-headed brick relieving arch visible, possibly indicating an earlier double-height carriage arch.

The north side elevation is abutted by the adjoining building No. 30, with the redbrick gable rising above its roof. The rear redbrick elevation is abutted by a rendered two-storey gable-ended return. The return features 6/6 timber sash windows to the rear gable and 2/2 timber sash windows elsewhere, with a multi-pane timber casement window to the south elevation. The south side elevation is abutted by No. 1 The Square, with painted rubblestone and brick walling visible to the carriage arch.

The building terminates the terrace lining the east side of Main Street. A rear yard enclosed in rubble walling contains an original landscaped plot extending to the boundary of Hillsborough Fort.

Historical Development

No. 32 first appears on a map of Hillsborough around 1800, depicted as a small square building with a long rear return or office, in the possession of a Mr Johnson. The first Ordnance Survey map of 1833 and the contemporary Townland Valuation map show the property as one long thin building extending from the corner of the Square to the back of the yard. Townland Valuation records from the 1830s identify Mr Joseph Smith as occupant, with the property valued at £6 14s.

The second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858 depicts a considerably smaller building. Griffith's Valuation of 1861 describes the house as a 1B-class property consisting of two buildings: a three-storey building in front measuring five by eight yards, and the long building in the rear measuring eight by five yards. The valuer noted that the house was then occupied by a Sergeant of the South Down Militia, though three occupants were listed—Mr Gormit, Harman, and Fergy—and it was valued at £8. In 1864 Mr Richard Harrison took occupancy and remained until 1878, when the house fell vacant.

The Annual Revisions Town Plan of the 1860s depicts the house as a small square building with the current rear return, now used as a shop store. In 1882 the Revd Richard A. Kernan, then Curate of the Parish Church and later its Rector between 1890 and 1913, occupied the house. Kernan remained until 1890 when he moved to the Church Rectory south of Hillsborough. Mr Richard Foster took up residence in 1891 and was replaced by Kevin Foster in 1902. The 1901 census records Kevin Foster (43) as a Linen Factory Manager living at No. 32 with his wife Annie (36) and two children. Foster remained listed as occupant in 1911, when the house was recorded as a first-class dwelling comprising 13 inhabited rooms, a wash room, and coal house noted as the only out offices. Kevin Foster continued to reside at the house until his death in 1929, when his wife Annie was noted as the occupant.

Field inspection suggests a construction date of around 1780. The mismatched brickwork suggests the house may originally have been a single-bay townhouse, with the right bay added later. This may account for the angled profile of the facade, necessitated by its junction with the terrace on The Square. In 1974 Brett described the house as a "three-storey redbrick house, with a slightly convex front and good plain doorway."

The building was listed as category B in 1976. In 1978 the ground floor was converted into a toy shop named The Cheshire Cat, with the upper floors retained as a private flat. Renovations were carried out in 1980 and the roof was repaired in 1985. The shop has recently relocated to No. 32 following a brief period at an adjacent address.

The building is notable for its architectural style, proportion, ornamentation, and plan form, as well as the quality and survival of its interior. It possesses local historical interest and its setting within Hillsborough conservation area contributes to its overall significance.