Hillsborough, Main Street 1890

Photo ref: H142001

More about this scene

This photograph shows a town that has had its changes. The lamp tells of a long-established gas works; the railway came not long afterwards. The mile-post on the hill still tells of 70 miles to Dublin, but those are Irish miles. The estate was in the hands of Lord Arthur Hill and his nephew, the sixth Marquis, who was to come of age in 1892. This young man was to see the end of the old Irish landlord/tenant relations. Sale to the farmer was not yet compulsory, but a 100% loan could be obtained, with the repayments less than the old rent. The seventh Marquis sold the house to the new Government of Northern Ireland to become the residence of the Governor of the province in 1924.