Origins

Hillsborough Castle, which is located in the village of Hillsborough, County Down, is not a true castle. It is a Georgian mansion built in the 18th century for the Hill family, Marquesses of Downshire, who owned it until 1922 when the sixth marquis sold the mansion and its grounds to the British government.[2] By buying it the government solved a practical problem. Under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 a new state called Northern Ireland had been created. Executive authority had been vested for both Northern Ireland and 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 only 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 capital, Belfast, was deemed a suitable location. After some renovations, the first Governor, James Albert Edward Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, moved in during 1925.

Earl Castle Stewart

Earl Castle Stewart, in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Andrew Stuart, 1st Viscount Castle Stuart. The Stewart family descends from Sir Walter Stewart (died 1425), younger son of Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, son of Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, younger son of King Robert II of Scotland. Sir Walter had several children born out of wedlock who were later legitimized. One son, Andrew Stuart, was created Lord Avandale (or Avondale) in 1459 and served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1460 to 1482. Another son, Walter Stewart, became feudal Baron of Morphie and was legitimized in 1479. His grandson Andrew Stewart was created Lord Avondale in circa 1499, a reveival of the title which had become extinct on his great-uncle's death in 1488. Lord Avondale was one of the many Scottish peers who were killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

He was succeeded by his elder son, the second Lord. He exchanged his lordship with Sir James Hamilton for the lordship of Ochiltrie and by Act of Parliament in 1542 was ordained to be styled Lord Stuart of Ochiltrie. His great-grandson, the third Lord Stuart of Ochiltree, was First Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James VI (later James I of England). In 1611 he settled in Ulster where he was granted 3,000 acres (12 km²) of land in County Tyrone. In 1615 he resigned the feudal barony of Ochiltree and the peerage to his first cousin, Sir James Stuart (the son of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Arran, younger son of the second Lord; see the Lord Ochiltree for further history of this title), with the consent of the Crown. In 1619 he was instead raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Castle Stuart, in the County of Tyrone. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He had already in 1628, one year before he succeeded his father in the barony, been created a Baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia.

His eldest son, the third Baron, fought as a Royalist in the Civil War. He had no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Baron. He died childless and was succeeded by his uncle, the fifth Baron. He never married and on his death in 1685 the titles became dormant. They remained dormant for the next 89 years but were successfully claimed in 1774 by Andrew Thomas Stewart, who became the ninth Baron. He was the son of Robert Stewart, the de jure eighth Baron, son of Andrew Stuart, the de jure seventh Baron, son of Colonel The Hon. Robert Stewart (d.1662), the de jure sixth Baron Castle Stewart, third son of the first Baron. Lord Castle Stewart was baptised Andrew Thomas Stewart-Moore (Moore was the maiden name of his paternal grandmother) but assumed by Royal license the surname of Stewart only in 1775. In 1793 he was created Viscount Castle Stuart, in the County of Tyrone, in the Peerage of Ireland, and in 1800 he was further honoured when he was made Earl Castle Stewart, in the County of Tyrone, also in the Peerage of Ireland.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. His eldest son, the third Earl, died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Earl. His only son, the fifth Earl, assumed in 1867 by Royal licence the additional surname of Richardson (which was that of his father-in-law. He died without male issue and was succeeded by his first cousin, Andrew John Stuart, who became the sixth Earl. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Reverend the Hon. Andrew Godfrey Stuart, fourth son of the second Earl. His two elder sons were both killed in the First World War and he was therefore succeeded by his third son, the seventh Earl, Arthur Stuart in 1921. He represented Harborough in the House of Commons as a Unionist. Arthur Stuart married Eleanor May Guggenheim (eldest daughter of Irene Guggenheim (née Rothschild) and Solomon R Guggenheim) in December 1920. They had four sons. His two elder sons were both killed in the [Second World War]] and Arthur Stuart was succeeded in 1961 by his third son Arthur Patrick Avondale, the eighth Earl and 15th Baronet; present holder of the titles.