Marquis of Downshire Monument

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Free-standing bronze statue on stone pedestal, erected c.1875. Set back from the footpath on the west side of Main Street opposite the entrance to St. Malachy's Church (HB19/05/001A) on a raised granite platform.

Life-size bronze statue of Arthur Fourth Marquis of Downshire signed by 'S.F. Lynn A.R.H.A.Sc. London 1873'. Statue supported on slightly tapered granite pedestal and plinth block resting on pair of sloping steps. The pedestal is inscribed: 'In honour of/ ARTHUR, 4th Marquis of Downshire, born 6th August 1812/ died 6th August 1866/ Erected by his/ friends and tenants.'

Setting:
Facing east opposite the gate screen of St. Malachy's Church (HB19/05/001A) on the west side of Main Street at the entrance to a children's playground.

Historical information

This monument, which commemorates the life of Arthur Will Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, the Fourth Marquis of Downshire (popularly known as ‘the Big Marquis’), first appears on the third edition (1902) of the Ordnance Survey map for Hillsborough as a small structure simply noted as ‘Monument.’ It does not appear in any valuation records for the area.

Barry tells us that the Fourth Marquis of Downshire (1813-1868) inherited his father's estates in 1845 and stayed in Ireland during the Great Famine commissioning relief works which cost over £20,000. He was also a supporter of reviving the Irish language (Barry, pp 26-28).

The bronze statue of the Fourth Marquis of Downshire, erected c. 1875, is situated opposite the Parish Church in a small garden on the site of the old brewery which was taken down in 1873. Brett states that the 20 ft high statue was modelled by Samuel Ferres Lynn, the brother of the architect W. H. Lynn, who depicted the Marquis in casual country dress with a walking stick. The casting of the monument was undertaken by Prince & Co. of Southwark (Brett, p. 22). Underneath the statue is engraved an inscription: ‘Arthur 4th Marquis of Downshire, born 8th August 1812 died 6th August 1868, erected by his friends and tenants.’ Brett states that the Marquis is depicted more than life-size to emphasise his larger-than-life status in the village.

The statue was listed in 1976.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS Map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-1903
4. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-1920
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/45A-C – Griffith’s Valuation 1856-64
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14A – Annual Revisions 1864-1879
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14B – Annual Revisions 1880-1889
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14C – Annual Revisions 1890-1908
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14D – Annual Revisions 1909-1928
10. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/14E – Annual Revisions 1928-1930

Secondary Sources

1. Barry, J., ‘Hillsborough: A parish in the Ulster plantation’ (3rd ed.), Belfast, Universities Press., 1982.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the towns and villages of Mid Down: Hillsborough, Dromore, Dromara, Ballynahinch, the Spa, Drumaness and Saintfield’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1974.
3. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of North County Down’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002.
4. NIEA File – HB19/05/015.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Free-standing bronze statue by S.F. Lynn set on stone plinth, erected c.1875. An impressively sized memorial depicting the Fourth Marquis of Downshire (1813-1868), popularly known as ‘the Big Marquis’, who inherited the Hill family estates in 1845 and was an important figure in the history of Hillsborough. Depicted more than life-size to emphasise his larger-than-life status in the village, the monument is a prominent landmark in Hillsborough and has group value with the many historic buildings in Hillsborough associated with his family.