Origins
Hillsborough Castle, which is located in the village of Hillsborough in north-west County Down, is not a true castle. It is a Georgian country house built in the 18th century for the Hill family, Marquesses of Downshire, who owned it until 1922 when the 6th Marquess sold the mansion and its grounds to the British government. In buying it, the government solved a practical problem. Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 a new, distinct region of the United Kingdom called Northern Ireland had been created within the traditional province of Ulster. Executive authority had been vested for both Northern Ireland and sister region Southern Ireland in the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who was supposed to be one of two all-Ireland features (along with the Council of Ireland) in the new home rule structure. However that office was abolished in a law change following the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which in effect abolished Southern Ireland (which had in reality largely existed on paper) and replaced it with the Irish Free State. A new office for Northern Ireland alone was created to fill the void, that of Governor of Northern Ireland. As the Viceregal Lodge in Dublin became unavailable, physically and politically, a new residence was needed. Hillsborough Castle, though outside the largest city of Northern Ireland, Belfast, was deemed a suitable location. After some renovations, the first Governor, The 3rd Duke of Abercorn, moved in during 1925.
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