Former Market House, Downshire Arms, 28 Main Street, Hilltown, Co Down, BT34 5UJ

Former Market House

This is a two-storey early 19th-century building located at the northeast corner of Main Street and Rathfriland Road junction in the centre of Hilltown. It forms the right (eastern) block of a pair of buildings and now forms part of the Downshire Arms hotel complex, having been extensively refurbished around 1993. The building originally functioned as a market house with a court house on the first floor.

The structure is a three-bay former market house surmounted by a clock tower. The pitched roof is natural slate with skews and painted rendered gables. At the centre of the ridge sits a square-plan cupola containing a clock, with a leaded base. Each cheek of the cupola is timber-framed with plain pilasters. The front elevation has a modern clock face with Roman numerals (now peeling). Each remaining face of the cupola has a semicircular-headed louvred timber vent. Above is an overhanging timber cornice supporting the leaded dome, which is terminated by a fish weathervane.

The central bay advances slightly forward beneath a pedimented gable that ties into the main roof. Modern metal rainwater goods are fitted to the two-stage rendered eaves course, with downpipes running down each side of the advanced central bay. A modern light fitting is attached to the gable.

The walls are smooth painted render with a projecting basecourse and platband between ground and first floors. Each ground floor bay is filled with a semi-elliptical-headed archway, with ashlar granite jambs, voussoirs and keyblock. A platband runs across the façade, with the arches rising from imposts. The left arch is infilled and now contains the main entrance—a panelled and painted timber door with glazed sidelights, timber apron panels and a three-piece semi-elliptical-headed fanlight. To the left of this door is a modern metal plaque commemorating the official opening of the Downshire Arms on 7 December 1993 by William McCarter (Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland) and John Murray (Permanent Secretary, Department of Environment for Northern Ireland). The central arch is infilled with a 6/6 sliding sash window with ashlar granite cill. The right arch is completely filled with a large pair of sheeted timber doors, each with a horizontal barred opening to the centre; its head is infilled with a sheeted timber panel. Large 6/6 sliding sash windows are centred to each first floor bay. The left gable is abutted by the lower western block, with painted smooth render above.

The rear elevation has the coachway to the left, an advanced pedimented middle bay, and is abutted to the right by a single-storey extension from the western block. The rear wall mirrors the façade with similar eaves and pediment detail. The rear of the coachway, on the left bay, is plain and entirely modern, providing delivery access to the kitchens. The central bay is partly abutted at ground and first floors by an east outbuilding. A spoke-headed fire escape window is located at first floor right. The right bay has a 6/6 sliding sash window at first floor. A lower building abuts the right gable, with painted smooth render above and a modern television aerial attached.