5 Arthur Street, Hillsborough, County Down, BT26 6AP

5 Arthur Street, Hillsborough

A mid-terrace single-storey stone house with attic, built around 1830 as part of a terrace of 23 similar dwellings. The house faces west and stands on a rectangular plan with a pitched natural slate roof fitted with clay ridge tiles. It features a single gabled dormer and shares a single replacement redbrick chimneystack with cast-iron pots with the adjoining house (No. 3). A cast-iron gutter on iron brackets runs along the eaves.

The walls are constructed of galletted rubble basalt with redbrick surrounds to window and door openings. Granite hood mouldings and sills provide the principal decorative feature. The house retains its original cast-iron lattice casement windows, which are top and side hung. The east front elevation contains a single window opening and a door opening. The timber sheeted door is fitted with original cast-iron ironmongery. The south side elevation adjoins No. 7 and is connected to it by a shared passageway which gives access to the rear. This passageway is fronted by a voussoired granite and sandstone arch to the street, with part of the original granite hood moulding surviving. The passageway itself is concrete paved, and the south wall is rendered brick. The north side elevation is abutted by No. 3 Arthur Street. A two-storey extension abuts the rear west elevation.

This house retains considerable original fabric when compared with the remainder of the street, including original lattice windows, stone hood mouldings and some internal plank doors. It displays its original modest style and proportions and constitutes an important part of the overall character of Arthur Street.

Historical Context

The earliest houses in this terrace were built by 1833, though they may date from the late 1820s. They were built as low-cost housing for workers on the Downshire estate. The terrace was certainly complete by 1858. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1833 shows the two sides of the terrace as uneven in length, suggesting that further houses may have been added after the initial valuation town plan of the same period. Field inspection indicates the terrace may have been built in at least three phases: the earlier houses, including this one, dating from the late 1820s using random rubble masonry with granite for mouldings and arched alleyways, with further phases added before 1858.

All houses on the street were originally built with a yard to the rear, a pit for household waste, and a dry toilet. Coal was typically stored in a hole under the stairs adjacent to the living room. Water was supplied either from a tap at the top of Arthur Street or from a pump at the end of Wapping Street.

This house first appears in Griffith's Valuation (1856–64) as occupied by Richard Duncan and leased from the Marquess of Downshire. It is recorded as a house and yard valued at £2 15 shillings, with a weekly rent of 1 shilling and 4 pence plus taxes. The valuer noted that rents were 'moderate'. This house claimed ownership of the passageway and was valued slightly higher than the neighbouring house for this reason.

The house was listed in 1974. In 1982 various renovations were carried out including replacement of the dormer window. In 1989 a velux roof light was added to the rear.

The house is part of a terrace of 23 similar houses forming a cul-de-sac on the east side of Ballynahinch Street. It is of considerable architectural and historic interest as representative early nineteenth-century workers' housing and contributes to the heritage of the area. The house lies within a conservation area.