Summer House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Free-standing stone temple, erected c.1850 as a garden summer house. Rectangular on plan facing west, terminating the east end of the terrace to the south garden front of Hillsborough Castle (HB19/05/076A).

Greek Doric stone ashlar summer house with pedimented tetrastyle front and pair of screen walls. Lead-lined stone roof to full pediment and full Doric entablature including triglyphs and metopes with guttae. The cornice base to the pediment has mutules with guttae and anthemia to the corners. The plain architrave is supported on four fluted Greek Doric columns with entasis and resting on plain stone base. Mosaic tiled floor within the structure in Roman style with visible stone flagged roof, brick to rear pediment and four timber beams. The Greek Doric frieze and pediment is repeated to the rear with plain ashlar stonework walling having a capital moulding to unfinished corner piers. To the south screeen wall, below architrave level, the frieze continues to a blind square-headed panel with shallow Doric pilasters. The south screen wall has a blind niche to its south elevation.

Setting:
Located at the easternmost end of the south garden elevation to Hillsborough Castle, terminating the elevated terrace with a flight of stone steps abutting its south screen wall. The structure sits behind the boundary wall to the south end of The Square.

Roof Lead-lined stone flaggs
Walling Stone ashlar

Historical information

The Summer House dates from changes made to Hillsborough Castle between 1833 and 1858 and may be the work of William and James Sands. (Hillsborough Castle, p.22)

The main road to Moira, at one time, ran across the south front of Hillsborough Castle where the Summer House now stands. The road was diverted c.1825 and the Summer House was built between the first and second editions of the ordnance survey in 1833 and 1858, blocking the old route. (Hillsborough Castle, p.22)

The Summer House first appears, uncaptioned, on the second edition OS map of 1858. A perspective of Hillsborough Castle by William Sands of c.1840 shows the building and it appears possible that Sands was the architect of this addition. Sands and his relative, James, worked on the house during the 1840s and were responsible for the design of the entrance portico on the south front of the castle. (Hillsborough Castle, p.22)

Brett raises the possibility that the summer house could have been an ‘earlier exercise in the Grecian style imported from elsewhere’. (Brett, p.91)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/14/1 – First Edition OS Map 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/3/14/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/14/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1902-3
4. PRONI OS/6/3/14/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-20
5. PRONI D/671/P8/14 – Sketch of Hillsborough House by William Sands, c.1840

Secondary Sources

1. 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
2. “Hillsborough Castle” Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

Free-standing stone temple, erected c.1850 as a garden summer house, it dates from changes made to Hillsborough Castle between 1833 and 1858 likely to be the work of William and James Sands. A perfect exercise in Neo-classical academia complementing the portico to the garden front of Hillsborough Castle. Terminating the raised garden terrace to the south garden front to the castle, this diminutive garden structure exhibits high quality stone masonry skills of the period. Enhancing the southern aspect of the castle, the summer house adds to the wealth of garden features that make up the complex of Hillsborough Castle. It has group value with the other listed structures at Hillsborough Castle.

General comments

This record has been re-allocated. Originally HB19/05/078.
Additional listing criteria apply-R-Age, S- Authenticity, T-Historic Importance & U - Historic Associations.