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

20 Arthur Street, Hillsborough

20 Arthur Street is a single-storey stone terraced house with an attic dormer, built circa 1850 as part of a planned row of similar dwellings constructed for workers and tenants of the Downshire Estate. The house is located on Arthur Street, which runs north from Ballynahinch Street near St Malachi's Parish Church.

The building retains its original modest Victorian character and proportions, displaying a dressed stone façade with a distinctive sandstone elliptical arched alleyway featuring long-and-short stone surrounds. The arch, which originally provided access to rear yards, now serves as secondary access to a modern single-storey extension at the rear. A robust half-circle cement-rendered moulding acts as a label-mould above the archway. The roofing is natural slate with clay ridge tiles; a cast-iron rainwater goods system is installed. A replacement brick chimney stack, shared with the adjoining building, rises with two clay pots. The walling comprises coursed rubble masonry with red brick surrounds to the door and window openings.

The front elevation, facing west, is asymmetrically arranged with a ground-floor window positioned to the left of the front door, and the arched alleyway to the right. The original doors and windows have been replaced; the current windows are modern top and side-hung timber casements, single-glazed and painted white, with lattice lead applied to the face. Sandstone cills are painted red. A replacement timber-sheeted front door is installed. The left elevation abuts the adjoining dwelling at number 18; the right elevation forms part of the passageway between number 22.

Historically, the house represents an important phase in the street's development. Ordnance Survey maps indicate that Arthur Street was constructed in stages throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. The earliest dwellings shown on the 1833 map date from the 1820s and were built to house estate workers; by the town plan of circa 1834, six dwellings were identified. The street was completed as it appears today by the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1858. Field evidence supports the mapping evidence, revealing that the earliest properties used random rubble masonry with granite moulding, whilst a second construction phase employed sandstone in place of granite with squared galleted rubble walling. Number 20 belongs to the later phase of construction, built circa 1850, characterised by more regular cut stone laid to courses.

In the Griffith's Valuation of 1862, the owner was recorded as John Smith, and the house with yard was valued at £2 15 shillings. The valuer noted that rents were 'moderate'. The property claimed ownership of the passageway and enjoyed an additional bedroom above it, resulting in a valuation slightly higher than neighbouring houses. All dwellings on Arthur Street were originally built with a rear yard containing a pit for household waste and a dry toilet. Coal was typically stored in a hole beneath the stairs adjacent to the living room; water was supplied either from a tap at the top of Arthur Street or a pump at the end of Wapping Street.

The house was listed in 1974. During the twentieth century it has undergone various alterations and additions, including replacement of the dormer in 1990 and installation of skylights in 1999. The original doors and windows have been replaced, and many original internal materials were replaced during recent renovations. Despite these changes, the building retains its original façade and constitutes an important part of the overall character of Arthur Street. The building forms part of a pair of matching terraces lining the street, accessed by a single entrance from Ballynahinch Street, with the other end closed by a large rubble masonry wall (which formerly contained an arched opening since infilled). The street is located within a conservation area.