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| Royal Hillsborough | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Royal Hillsborough Location withinCounty Down | |
| Population | 3,952 (2011 census) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HILLSBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | BT26 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
| |
Royal Hillsborough more commonly known simply asHillsborough, is a village andcivil parish inCounty Down, Northern Ireland, 19 km (12 mi) from the city of Belfast. It is within theLisburn and Castlereagh District Council area. The village is noted for itsGeorgian architecture. It is home toHillsborough Castle, theBritish royal family's official residence in Northern Ireland, and residence of the BritishSecretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Before 1661, thetownland was known asCrumlin orCromlin (from Irish Cromghlinn 'crookedglen').[2] By 1661, during thePlantation of Ulster, the townland and the settlement within it had been renamedHillsborough.[3] It was named after English army officerSir Moses Hill,[3] and his sonArthur Hill, who built Hillsborough Fort in 1650 to command the road from Dublin toCarrickfergus. The Hill family became theEarls of Hillsborough, thenMarquesses of Downshire.
The mansion known asHillsborough Castle was built in 1770 forThe 1st Earl of Hillsborough (he was later created The 1stMarquess of Downshire, in 1789).[3]
A prominent memorial toThe 3rd Marquess of Downshire (1788–1845)—closely resemblingNelson's Column inTrafalgar Square, London—stands to the south of the village and is visible throughout much of the surrounding area.
In 2007, Hillsborough won 3rd place in the annual Ulster in Bloom competition in the large village category.[4]
In 2021, it was announced thatletters patent would be issued granting the villagethe prefix "Royal", thus officially becoming "Royal Hillsborough", in recognition of Hillsborough Castle, the officialroyal residence for Northern Ireland.[5] The Letters Patent came into effect on 20 October that year.[6]
Hillsborough was within Lisburn City Council until 1 April 2015, when it formed part of the newLisburn and Castlereagh District Council. Royal Hillsborough is located within the Westminster constituency ofLagan Valley andNorthern Ireland Assembly constituency ofLagan Valley.
On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 3,952 people living in Hillsborough and Culcavy.[7] Of these:
Hillsborough railway station was opened by theBanbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Railway on 13 July 1863.[11] The line through the station was part of theGreat Northern Railway (Ireland).The station closed on 30 April 1956 under the auspices of theGreat Northern Railway Board. Train services were replaced by bus services provided by the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA). No trace of the station now remains, as it was removed when the dual carriageway was built. It was situated where this crosses over the Culcavey Road.
| Climate data for Hillsborough climate station (91m elevation) 1991–2020 averages | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 19.4 (66.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.5 (85.1) | 28.4 (83.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 21.1 (70.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 14.5 (58.1) | 29.5 (85.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.3 (45.1) | 7.8 (46.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.7 (53.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 17.1 (62.8) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.3 (64.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 12.8 (55.0) | 9.7 (49.5) | 7.7 (45.9) | 12.6 (54.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.0 (35.6) | 1.8 (35.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.5 (43.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 11.0 (51.8) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.2 (48.6) | 6.8 (44.2) | 4.1 (39.4) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.9 (42.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12.2 (10.0) | −7.8 (18.0) | −10.0 (14.0) | −4.9 (23.2) | −3.3 (26.1) | 0.0 (32.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | 1.8 (35.2) | −1.2 (29.8) | −4.5 (23.9) | −8.3 (17.1) | −11.5 (11.3) | −12.2 (10.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 83.9 (3.30) | 65.3 (2.57) | 66.5 (2.62) | 57.6 (2.27) | 60.0 (2.36) | 69.7 (2.74) | 81.1 (3.19) | 83.2 (3.28) | 72.4 (2.85) | 91.9 (3.62) | 98.6 (3.88) | 87.4 (3.44) | 917.5 (36.12) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 14.4 | 12.9 | 12.8 | 11.5 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 12.0 | 13.8 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 157.0 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 44.8 | 72.0 | 106.7 | 153.5 | 194.4 | 159.7 | 150.1 | 152.0 | 119.2 | 94.3 | 60.1 | 38.3 | 1,345.2 |
| Source 1: metoffice.gov.uk[12] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: KNMI | |||||||||||||
moved to a pleasant area of Hillsborough.
