St. John's Parish Church, Main Street and the Market House give Hilltown’s architectural history concrete form. The landscape of the Mournes, historic church heritage and the Brandy Pad add further dimensions. For planning your trip, it helps to organise these themes by interest: architecture, village history, historic trade routes or a festival date in July.

St. John's Parish Church and Hilltown’s Townscape

St. John's Parish Church was the first building erected in the planned village of Hilltown and was completed in 1766. The year marks the church’s completion; its status as the first building also links it to the development of the planned settlement. The interior features Neoclassical woodwork and original pews. The church can therefore be understood both through its role in the village’s history and through specific features of its interior.

The Market House in Hilltown was built by the Marquess of Downshire. Its patronage is a significant historical reference point, while St. John's Parish Church can be understood through its completion date and its role in the planned village. Most of the buildings on Hilltown’s Main Street are two storeys high and have slate roofs. The number of storeys and roofing material describe the street’s built character. Part of Hilltown lies within the Mournes Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; this landscape setting complements the history of the village and its architecture.

Church Ruins, Dolmen and Historic Routes

The historic remains of the old Clonduff Parish Church include ruins and a historic cemetery. This differs from the history of St. John's Parish Church: here, the focus is on the ruins and cemetery, while there it is on the first building in the planned village and its interior. The comparison offers two different ways of exploring church history without conflating the buildings or the periods to which they belong.

Goward Dolmen is the remains of a portal tomb dating from 2500 to 2000 BC. Excavations at the dolmen in 1834 uncovered a funerary urn and a flint arrowhead. It is estimated to weigh around 50 tonnes. Compared with the completion date of St. John's Parish Church, the dolmen dates back thousands of years earlier. The tomb type, finds and estimated weight complement one another: the date places the monument in its historical period, while the finds and weight offer other details about its history.

The Brandy Pad broadens the focus from buildings to the historic movement of goods. This historic smuggling route was associated with transporting brandy and spirits from the coast to Hilltown, which served as a favoured distribution point. The route thus linked the coast, transport and distribution. This perspective differs from the churches and archaeological remains, revealing another facet of Hilltown’s history.

The Boley Fair Street Festival in July

The Boley Fair Street Festival in Hilltown runs from the Friday before the second Tuesday in July through to the second Tuesday in July. As the date can vary from year to year, check the latest programme before your trip. The festival period is tied to a day of the week, rather than a fixed calendar date. When planning your trip, this is a different consideration from the buildings described as permanent features: what matters here is whether the festival dates fit your travel plans.

This gives you two different ways to shape your stay: you can focus on Hilltown’s architectural and village history or use the festival dates as the starting point for planning your trip. Churches, the townscape, archaeological sites and historic trade routes offer different perspectives rather than one fixed sightseeing itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Warrenpoint, Crossmaglen, Newry, Kilkeel

Go to the main travel guide: Newry.