Talk:Marquess of Downshire

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Yes the Harwich barony looks odd and indeed it is but represents a strange period in peerage creations where Lord X, Baron of X is the form given in the patent of creation. See Burkes et al for verification Alci12 17:10, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

The obit of the last M also makes mention of the Hillsborough Guard but I have no details of this. Alci12 17:13, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Text from Arthur Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire
Here is some text that could be incorporated into this article:

In 1573 a Devonshire man, Moyses Hill, arrived in Ireland as a landless adventurer in Essex's army sent to subdue the rebellious O'Neill. As a 1957 booklet puts it 'in process of time Moyses' descendants became numbered amongst the richest, most powerful and most benevolent landowners in Ireland.' Wills Hill, the 1st Marquess of Downshire, was a prominent member of Lord North's cabinet at the time of the American Revolution. Arthur Hill, the 2nd Marquess of Downshire, has been known as 'the gentle Leviathan' and the 3rd as 'a great Irish landlord' and as an innovative accountant.

In 1607 Sir Moyses Hill bought the Hills' first manor in County Down. By 1883 they had the eighth highest landed income of the whole United Kingdom. They held 115,000 acres (465 km²) in Ireland and 5,000 in Berkshire, England, with an enormous combined annual rental income of £96,691.

In County Down these acquisitions had come mostly from the families of O'Neill and Magennis. In the mid-19th century one could go from Larne (County Antrim) in the north to Blessington (County Wicklow) in the south without losing sight of lands belonging to the Hill family. The core was the Kilwarlin estate around Hillsborough in County Down. This features the old Hill seat of Hillsborough Castle, since 1922 Government House and subsequently the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There is also Hillsborough Fort, still a treasured Downshire possession.

In 1630 a Hill was instructed to form and keep a garrison of 20, and a bugler. Nearly four hundred years later the garrison is gone, but the hereditary Constable and the bugler remain.

Pax:Vobiscum (talk) 22:35, 6 October 2008 (UTC)