Former outbuildings at, The Downshire Arms, 28 Main Street, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5UJ

Former Outbuildings at The Downshire Arms

These former outbuildings at the rear of The Downshire Arms inn on Main Street, Hilltown, originally date from around 1825. Three two-storey structures enclose a yard to the north, west and east, accessed from Rathfriland Road through a gateway between the rear return of the main inn block and the western range. The yard is paved with modern yellow and red bricks and contains a modern central square raised flower bed with roughly dressed granite block walling and four tall modern lamp standards.

The three outbuildings are linked together at their northern end and retain few original features following extensive modernisation around 1993, when they were converted into residential accommodation. All three have pitched roofs of natural slate with painted cement rendered chimneys, smooth rendered walls with chamfered basecourse and two-stage eaves course supporting moulded metal gutters. All doors are modern framed and sheeted timber. The windows are variously 3/3 and 2/2 sliding sashes, with modern fittings throughout.

The north block, aligned west-east, is symmetrical and features an arcade of three semi-elliptical arches now infilled behind. Two stout granite columns, each course constructed from two semicircular blocks, support ashlar voussoirs, with similar attached piers at either end springing from projecting imposts. This block has a shallow decorative gable containing an oval datestone dated 1825. Its north elevation fronts a rear car park and is symmetrical with a shallow gable to the centre of the wall head, below which sits a spoke-headed 3/3 fixed window at first floor. Left and right sections are identical, each with a 3/3 sash semi-elliptical headed picture window and 3/3 sash to ground floor, and three 3/3 sashes in line to first floor.

The western and eastern blocks each have a pair of semi-elliptical headed former doorways now infilled with modern timber picture windows, and both contain 1993 datestones in shallow decorative gables. The western block's elevation fronting Rathfriland Road is blank to ground floor and has three semicircular windows to first floor with a projecting platband below. This platband continues around the south gable and the north elevation of the northern block. The eastern block abuts the rear of the former market house.

Historical records indicate that plans were drawn up for an inn at Hilltown around 1801 but were never enacted; the design was subsequently redeployed at Banbridge. No hotel or market house appears on a large-scale map of 1803. According to local historian P.J. Rankin, the inn dates from 1815 and was constructed by Robert Magill. It apparently collapsed in a storm and was rebuilt in 1818. At least one of the outbuildings, but probably all three, dates to 1825. All three appear on the 1834 valuation map. The inn is cited in the 1835 valuation as occupied by Patrick Cowan and in the circa 1861 valuation as a hotel under Hugh Hall.

A 1984 photographic survey of the north block records its pitched roof to have had two cast iron skylights to the south pitch. At that time the walls were of ashlar granite with three steep decorative gables to the yard. There was no datestone visible and the central gable was larger than the others, containing a loading door. The other two gables contained narrow vertically divided 2/2 sliding sashes with cills resting on the crowns of the arcades below. A narrow pedestrian arch was located to the left of the arcade, and no chimneys were present. These features have since been lost through modernisation. The buildings were delisted on 28 June 2002 as modernisation had resulted in the loss of much original detail and major alteration to the plan form, rendering them no longer special enough to merit listing.