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

24 Main Street, Hillsborough

A mid-terrace two-storey rendered house built in the late 18th century, located on the east side of Main Street. It stands on a sloping site as the street meets The Square and is situated within the Hillsborough Conservation Area.

The building was originally constructed as a single dwelling, but by 1861 had been subdivided into two separate houses. These two dwellings were subsequently merged into one during the mid-20th century. The structure is rectangular on plan, facing west, with single and two-storey flat-roofed extensions added to the rear.

The front elevation retains proportions characteristic of its 18th-century origins, featuring a four-bay arrangement. It is fronted by a rendered platform with wrought-iron railings and gate, providing level access from the sloping street. The walls are finished in pebble-dash render with a smooth render plinth course to ground floor sill level. The pitched natural slate roof has black clay ridge tiles and a rendered chimneystack shared with the adjoining house No. 22. Cast-iron guttering on iron brackets sits at the rendered eaves.

Windows throughout feature square-headed openings with smooth render surrounds and concrete sills. The ground floor has replacement timber sash windows arranged in tripartite and bipartite configurations. A square-headed door opening with replacement timber panelled door and rectangular leaded overlight opens onto a tiled step and platform. The north side elevation is abutted by adjoining house No. 22, and the south side is abutted by adjoining building No. 28. The rear elevation contains a single and two-storey flat-roofed extension with felt-covered roof, pebble-dash rendered walling and replacement timber casement windows. A timber glazed door opens onto three tiled steps to a rear patio.

Historical records indicate that the original indenture between James Henderson and the Marquis of Downshire for this plot dates to 1773, with the building constructed shortly after. The building appears on a map of Hillsborough from around 1800 as a single rectangular structure with large out offices. Henderson occupied the house until at least the 1830s. By 1861, Griffith's Valuation records show the property had been divided, with two separate dwellings created at No. 24, each measuring approximately 4.5 by 7 yards. The northern dwelling was let to Alexander Patterson at 2 shillings and 6 pence weekly rent, while the southern was occupied by James Henn at £8 rent and possessed small out offices that no longer survive. In 1864, James Steel acquired ownership of Nos. 22 and 24 Main Street. The longest residing occupant of the north house was Francis Hogg, who lived there from 1882 to 1901, subsequently moving to the neighbouring property where he remained until 1919. The northernmost house was occupied by Samuel Gibson, recorded in the 1901 census as a 40-year-old labourer, until his death in 1919.

The building has undergone substantial alterations. The two small houses were converted into a single dwelling during the mid-20th century. Renovations were carried out in 1979, with a kitchen extension added in 1984. Recent comprehensive renovation occurred around 2000, which resulted in the loss of most original interior features. The property was listed in 1976 but was subsequently delisted on 20 August 2012.

The rear plot has been sold off to neighbouring properties, with paved patios remaining. No. 24 Main Street is notable as one of the earlier Georgian townhouses built on Main Street during the period 1770–1830, when many 17th-century thatched buildings were replaced. The existence of the original 1773 indenture makes this one of very few early buildings on Main Street for which a definite origin is documented.