Dr Wills McNeilly

Position: Assistant Curator of Historic Buildings

About

Wills is a buildings archaeologist with research interests in the agency of nineteenth-century Irish landlords and tenants, their buildings and improvement projects. He provided curatorial advice in the repair and interpretation of the buildings and designed landscape at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens prior to their re-opening in 2019. He returned to Historic Royal Palaces five years later to continue research to inform the repair of Hillsborough Courthouse and Hillsborough Fort.

The fort constructed in the seventeenth century was defendable by cannon prior to its remodelling in the Gothic style in the following century by Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (later First Marquess of Downshire). The stronghold was transformed into a remarkable pleasure ground and served subsequent generations of Downshires, hosting banquets and celebrations of national significance. Over the coming years Historic Royal Palaces intends to return this unique heritage asset to its former splendour.

Select publications

McNeilly, W., Sands of Time: An Archaeological Guide to Murlough National Nature Reserve, County Down (Saintfield: The National Trust, 2015)