Marquessate of Downshire
Arms:Quarterly, 1st, Sable, on a Fess Argent, between three Leopards passant guardant Or, spotted of the field, as many Escallops Gules(for HILL); 2nd, Party per bend sinister Ermine and Ermines, a Lion rampant Or(for TREVOR); 3rd, Gules, a Quatrefoil Or(for ROWE); 4th, Argent, a Chevron Azure, between three Trefoils slipped per pale Gules and Vert(for ROWE). Crest:A Reindeer's Head couped Gules, attired and plain collared Or. Supporters: Dexter: a Leopard Or, spotted Sable, ducally gorged and chained Gules. Sinister: a Reindeer Gules, attired unguled and plain collared Or.[1]
Creation date	20 August 1789[1]
Created by	George III
Peerage	Peerage of Ireland
First holder	Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire
Present holder	Arthur Nicholas Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire
Heir apparent	Edmund Hill, Earl of Hillsborough
Remainder to	The 1st Marquess'heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Hillsborough(I) Earl of Hillsborough(GB) Viscount Hillsborough Viscount Kilwarlin Viscount Fairford Baron Hill Baron Harwich Baron Sandys(UK)
Status	Extant
Seat	Clifton Castle
Former seats	Hillsborough Castle Easthampstead Park
Motto	PER DEUM FERRUM OBTINUI (By God and my sword I have obtained) NE TENTES AUT PERFICE (Either attempt not, or accomplish)[2]

Marquess of Downshire is a title in thePeerage of Ireland.^[3] It was created in 1789 forWills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a formerSecretary of State.

Hill had already been createdEarl of Hillsborough andViscount Kilwarlin ofCounty Down in thePeerage of Ireland in 1751 with remainder, in default of male issue of his own, to his uncleArthur Hill, 1st Viscount Dungannon.^[4] He was further createdBaron Harwich, ofHarwich in theCounty of Essex, in thePeerage of Great Britain in 1756 with a seat in the BritishHouse of Lords.^[5] In 1772 he was further ennobled with a secondEarldom of Hillsborough and asViscount Fairford in theCounty of Gloucester, both in thePeerage of Great Britain.^[6][1]

Downshire was the eldest son ofTrevor Hill, who had been createdViscount Hillsborough andBaron Hill of Kilwarlin in County Down, in thePeerage of Ireland in 1717, with remainder, in default of male issue of his own, to the male issue of his father, Michael Hill. Trevor Hill was the brother of the aforementionedArthur Hill, 1st Viscount Dungannon.^[7][1]

In 2013, the 9th Marquess succeeded, under the terms of a special remainder of 1802, to the title Baron Sandys. Thebarony had been created forMary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire, the widow of thesecond Marquess, with remainder to her younger sons, Lord Arthur Moyses William Hill, Lord Marcus Hill, Lord Augustus Hill and Lord George Hill successively, but if the male line failed, could be inherited by her male heirs of the eldest son, thethird Marquess. This occurred in April 2013 with the death ofRichard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys without male heirs.^[8]

Prior to the passage of theHouse of Lords Act 1999, the Marquesses sat in theHouse of Lords as the Earls of Hillsborough.^[9]

Among many other estates, the Marquess ownedHillsborough Castle,Blessington House inCounty Wicklow, andEasthampstead Park nearBracknell. The Marquesses are also Hereditary Constables ofHillsborough Fort.

The present family seat isClifton Castle, nearMasham,North Yorkshire.

• Sir Moyses Hill, knight (died February 1630) came to Ireland as a soldier underthe Earl of Essex.^[1]
• Arthur Hill (died April 1663) a colonel underCharles I, MP for Counties of Down, Antrim, and Armagh in theFirst Protectorate Parliament of 1654–55, appointed Constable ofHillsborough Castle in 1660, MP forCounty Down from 1661.^[10]
• William Hill (died 1693) succeeded to the Hillsborough estates on the death of his elder half-brother Moyses Hill, and was a Privy Councillor underCharles II andJames II and Member of the Irish Parliament forBallyshannon from 1661 until 1666.^[1]
• Michael Hill (c.1662–1699) was a Privy Councillor, and aMember of Parliament forSaltash and forHillsborough. He married Ann, daughter and eventual heir ofSir John Trevor,Master of the Rolls andSpeaker of the House of Commons.^[1]

• Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough (1693–1742)
• Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough (1718–1793) (created Earl of Hillsborough in 1751)

• Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough (1718–1793) (created Marquess of Downshire in 1789)

• Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire (1718–1793)
• Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire (1753–1801)
• Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull Hill, 3rd Marquess of Downshire (1788–1845)
• Arthur Wills Blundell Sandys Trumbull Windsor Hill, 4th Marquess of Downshire (1812–1868)
• Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire (1844–1874)
• Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire (1871–1918)
• Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire (1894–1989)
• Arthur Robin Ian Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire (1929–2003)^[11]
• Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire, 8th Baron Sandys (born 1959)^[12]

Theheir apparent is the present holder's son Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (born 1996).^[12]

• Viscount Dungannon
• Baron Sandys
• Baron Trevor

• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921).Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy.London:Dean & Son. p. 308.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarquess of Downshire.

• Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Arthur Wills Blundell Trumbull Sandys Roden Hill, 5th Marquess of Downshire
• Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Arthur Wills John Wellington Trumbull Blundell Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire
• Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Arthur Wills Percy Wellington Blundell Trumbull Hill, 7th Marquess of Downshire

• Marquessates in the Peerage of Ireland
• Hill family
• 1789 establishments in Ireland
• Noble titles created in 1789
• Marquesses of Downshire

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Commons category link is on Wikidata