Limepark, 37 Drones Road, Armoy, Ballymoney, County Antrim, BT53 8XJ

Limepark is a substantial two-storey gabled farmhouse, probably dating from around 1760, set close to the northwest side of Drones Road, roughly half a mile south of Armoy in the townland of Moyaver Upper. It is accompanied by a large collection of mainly mid-19th century outbuildings, most of which are two-storey or single-storey rubble-built structures, now largely converted to holiday apartments. Although the house retains its mid-18th century external appearance, its interior is largely a product of a major renovation in the mid-1980s and early 2000s, with very little original detailing surviving. The outbuildings have been sympathetically adapted to their new uses, though some new openings have been introduced.

The house itself consists of a main northern section with a large projecting single-storey porch on the front (northeast-facing) elevation. To the rear there is a long, almost full-height return which, beyond a point marked by a chimneystack, merges with a long former outbuilding section — now holiday apartments — that continues in stepped fashion along the gently rising ground to the south. To the east gable of the main section there is a single-storey shed with a mono-pitched roof, and a slightly lower recently added projecting section to the south with a flat roof. The entire structure is built in rubble. The house section is largely finished in a coloured limewash, while the outbuildings are left in bare stone with brick dressings to the openings. The roof of the house and the return is gabled and slated. Each gable of the main section has a rendered chimneystack, and there is a rendered stack to the ridge of the return. The rainwater goods appear to be largely, if not wholly, cast iron.

The porch, which sits at the centre of the ground floor of the front elevation, is a relatively large single-storey structure. Its west face has a doorway with a panelled timber door, and its east face has a similar doorway that appears to have been inserted relatively recently. The north face has a large square window with a fixed timber frame containing multiple Georgian panes and narrower margin panes. The porch walls are finished to match the main house, but feature a bevelled projecting base course and a projecting moulded stone eaves cornice. The porch appears to have a flat roof hidden behind a low parapet with squat arched corner piers; to the west side the parapet takes the form of a shallow pediment. To either side of the porch at ground floor level there are two windows with horned timber sash frames with Georgian panes (six over six). At first floor level there are five similar but marginally shorter windows. The frames in all of these windows appear to be recent replacements, as are most of the frames elsewhere on the house and outbuildings. At first floor level on the east gable there is one window matching those on the front; the ground floor of this gable is abutted by the shed. On the west gable there is a similar window at ground floor level to the right.

The south elevation is abutted to the left of centre by the two-storey return. To the left of the return at ground floor level is a doorway with a modern glazed timber door, which appears to be a relatively recent insertion, and above it at first floor level is a window matching those on the front. To the right of the return at ground floor level is a broad, obviously enlarged doorway with a modern glazed timber door with sidelights; directly above this at first floor level is a window with a modern timber casement frame matching the door below. This window, which is a recent insertion, has an unusual corbelled cill.

The east face of the return has, from left to right: a window with a horned timber sash frame (two over two); a doorway with a timber-sheeted door; another window as before but with a broader sash box; a smaller segmental-headed window with a timber frame containing leaded stained glass to the upper pane; a broad doorway matching that to the rear of the main section; and finally a conventional-sized doorway with a partly glazed timber door with margin panes and coloured glass. At first floor level there are two narrow windows with side-hung timber frames and bevelled cills, and to the right two windows matching those on the front of the main house. The right-hand third of this face is limewashed in the same manner as the main section. On the west face of the return, at ground floor level from left to right: a small window with a side-hung timber frame; a much broader (enlarged) window with a timber casement frame; and a smaller window with a horned timber sash frame (two over two). At first floor level there are three windows of roughly similar size, all with timber frames — the leftmost with a top-hung opener, the others side-hung. The left-hand third of this face is limewashed.

The outbuildings are extensive, particularly in relation to the size of the house, and are described individually below.

Outbuilding A is the largest single component of the outbuilding group and is attached to the return of the house. It is largely two-storey and stretches south along gently rising ground, the roofline stepping up slightly at two points to accommodate the changing levels. The east face has three relatively small square windows to the left with timber frames of varying description, some side-hung; then a pedestrian doorway with a timber-sheeted stable door; then another small window, another doorway and another window, all much as before (side-hung four-pane frames and so on); then a vehicle doorway with a concrete lintel and a partly glazed timber-sheeted folding door; and to the far right another pedestrian doorway with a concrete lintel and a partly glazed timber-sheeted door. At first floor level there are two very small windows to the right with side-hung timber frames. The south gable has a doorway to the right at ground floor level with a timber-sheeted door and a cement-rendered surround, suggesting a recent insertion. At upper floor level there is a doorway reached by a rubble-built flight of steps with recent metal railings; the surrounding stonework and brickwork suggests this opening was once considerably larger, and it has a partly glazed timber door. The west face has a small window to the far left with a side-hung timber frame; immediately to its right a doorway with a partly glazed timber door; then a tall pointed arch window (a recent insertion) with a timber Georgian-paned Gothic frame; and then, some distance to the right and beyond a point where the façade projects slightly forward, three small windows all with side-hung timber frames, which do not appear to be original. At first floor level there are three windows with similar frames. The gabled roof of Outbuilding A is slated and has two brick chimneystacks — one to the ridge and one further north on the west side of the roof near the eaves. There are at least five skylights of various sizes to the east side of the roof and at least three more to the west.

Outbuilding B is a large single-storey structure abutting the far right of Outbuilding A, with a Belfast truss roof. A date stone suggests the building may date from 1853, with modifications or extensions in 1903 — at which point the present roof was almost certainly added — and again in 1961, when the front face probably assumed its current appearance. The south-facing front has a stepped parapet, is finished in dry dash render, and has two vehicle doorways with timber-sheeted doors, one of which is partly glazed. The north face is built in rubble interspersed with courses of brick, with the curve of the roof clearly visible; it has a broad doorway to the right with a timber-sheeted door and two segmental-headed windows to the left with fixed timber frames with Georgian panes. The roof is covered in corrugated iron, and there is a small brick chimneystack to the north, flush with the north face.

Outbuilding grouping C consists of a U-shaped single-storey shed complex attached to the west side of Outbuilding B, arranged around a relatively small yard, with a short additional building and some rubble walling to the west (outside the yard). The walls are largely rubble-built, with a mixture of gabled and mono-pitched slated roofs; however the building to the east side has breeze block walls and a roof of corrugated iron and corrugated asbestos. The openings, of which there are few, are largely without doors or window frames. Two relatively large doorways on the south face of the north building appear to be recent insertions. The most notable feature of this grouping is the north elevation, which presents a long façade of rubble interspersed with courses of brick, similar to the north face of Outbuilding B. This façade has three slit openings set at high level, two more at a slightly lower level, and a larger window opening at that lower level to the far right.

Outbuildings D and E are two L-shaped blocks to the east side of the site, east of Outbuilding A, arranged around what is now a small vegetable garden. Outbuilding D to the north is wholly single-storey and appears still to be used as a shed. Outbuilding E is single-storey to the east and two-storey to the south, with the two-storey section housing more holiday apartments and the single-storey section used as a small tearoom. Both blocks are built in rubble with a mixture of gabled, hipped and mono-pitched slated roofs, brick dressings and stone lintels to many openings, and recent timber window frames and doors.

The north face of the north section of Outbuilding D has, from left to right: a window with a fixed timber frame; a doorway with a timber-sheeted stable door; a somewhat narrower doorway with a conventional timber-sheeted door and plain rectangular fanlight; and the brick outline of a low segmental-headed arch. Just above this last feature are two small high-level windows with leaded stained glass. The coursing of the stonework and brickwork on this face suggests the arrangement of openings has been altered. The south face of this section has two doorways, both timber-sheeted, the one to the right partly glazed. The west face of the east section has, from left to right: a window with a fixed timber frame; a doorway with a sliding timber door; a larger window with a timber sash frame with Georgian panes (six over six); and a doorway with a timber-sheeted door. The east face of this section has a single doorway, similar to the others but broader. The south-facing gable has a small window to the left with timber shutters, and a smaller high-level window near the apex with a four-pane timber frame. A small gabled extension has been added to the right of this gable, with a doorway to its west face and a timber-sheeted door. A 19th-century-looking wrought-iron pedestrian gate spans between the south face of this extension and the north gable of the north section of Outbuilding E.

The east face of the north section of Outbuilding E has three small evenly spaced windows with timber casement frames and rough cement render surrounds. The west face has a symmetrical arrangement of four relatively large uniform windows with timber sash frames (two over two) and a central doorway with a partly glazed timber door; all these openings appear to be recent. The north face of the two-storey south section has, at ground floor level, two low but broad segmental-headed doorways, each with a partly glazed timber door with sidelights, and between them a window with a timber sash frame with Georgian panes (six over six). At first floor level there are four windows similar to those on the east face of the north section. The west gable of the south section has a high-level doorway with a timber-sheeted door and rough cement render surround, reached by stone steps with recent metal railings. At ground floor level the south elevation has three unevenly spaced windows with timber sash frames (four over four) and a doorway with a partly glazed timber door between the second and third windows; the rough brick dressings to all these ground floor openings suggest they are not original. At first floor level there are four windows similar to those on the north elevation. The east gable of the south section and the east face of the north section of Outbuilding D both back onto a tall but uneven rubble wall running alongside the road to the east of the property; this wall is blank except for a doorway with a timber-sheeted door leading into the north section of Outbuilding D. The south section of Outbuilding E has a small rubble-built chimneystack to the east end.

Outbuilding F lies to the southeast of the complex. It is a long single-storey rubble-built structure with a large lean-to section at the east end, and is partly ruinous. A small section at the east end is currently being renovated for use as a small holiday apartment and has a rebuilt north face with several window openings and a doorway, and a slated roof. The remainder of the structure to the west is partly open to the east side and has a corrugated iron roof; its openings are without doors or window frames. The lean-to section at the east end has a grass-covered roof.

The shed stretching from the east gable of the house appears to have been largely rebuilt in recent years and has been extended to the south with a slightly lower full-length section in rubble and brick, containing three large doorways — two with timber-sheeted double doors, one completely open — and an almost flat corrugated iron roof. The taller original shed behind this has a corrugated iron lean-to roof, with the exposed section of its south face finished in a mixture of render and breeze block. The north face presents the appearance of a tall rubble wall with little to suggest a building behind it, save a small rendered chimneystack. This wall has several high-level slit openings and, to the right, a low segmental-headed archway with a wrought iron gate. The east face of the shed is flush with the roadside boundary wall.

In front of the house there is a gravel forecourt with a small lawn to the east and a much larger lawn to the west and southwest. The forecourt and eastern lawn are enclosed from the road by a limewashed rubble wall with rough stone coping, which curves in to a gateway with rough rounded piers with stone caps and simple wrought iron gates. The yard areas between the outbuildings have been paved in recent times with small square blocks, though the areas to the south and west around the largely unused outbuildings remain unpaved.

The property has a well-documented history. A map of the Loughgeel Estate belonging to Sir George Macartney, believed to date from the 1760s, shows the townland of Moyaver Upper divided between a Reverend Alexander Clark, Francis Murry, Patrick Murry and Thomas Mooney. No houses are indicated on the map, which is not unusual as its purpose was to record the extent of tenant plots. However, Taylor and Skinner's road map of 1777 marks 'Lime Park' as the home of 'Revd. Mr Clarke', indicating that a house was in place by that date. The detailing to the staircase supports a pre-1780 date for the building, making it likely that the 'Lime Park' of 1777 is the present structure. A Macartney estate map of 1790 shows Reverend Alexander Clark still holding the property, and the Post-Chaise Companion of 1803 notes it as 'the seat of the Revd. Mr. Clarke', though C.E.B. Brett, drawing on Canon Leslie's Clergy of Connor, records that Clark had actually died in 1792. The house does not appear among residences of the clergy and gentry in Pigot's Directory of 1824, suggesting it had passed to someone of lower social standing by that point.

The main section of the house is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832 with a long L-shaped section stretching from the north side of the rear, and the building is marked as 'Lime Park' — the name almost certainly deriving from a limestone quarry a short distance to the northwest. The valuation of 1834 records that by this time the property was held by a Patrick McAlice (probably McAleese) and comprised the main dwelling measuring 49 feet by 26½ feet by 17 feet (described by the valuer as 'too near the road and rather too good for a farmer's house'), another portion belonging to the house measuring 37 feet by 20 feet by 8¼ feet, a cart house of 27 feet by 14½ feet by 8 feet, stores of 26 feet by 20 feet by 6½ feet, a thatched barn and associated buildings measuring 47½ feet by 20 feet by 6¾ feet, and a thatched stable, byre and associated buildings measuring 46 feet by 19½ feet by 6 feet. As these measurements and the map of 1832 show, none of the outbuildings visible today existed in their current form at this date, and the positioning of the rear L-shaped structure shown on the 1832 map does not correspond to anything surviving today. By the time of the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1857, however, a complex of buildings largely matching the present arrangement is shown, though the house is now marked as 'Moyaver'. The valuation of 1859 supplies no detailed description of the new buildings, but the valuers note that the outgoing tenant — possibly the Patrick McAlice of 1834 — had 'improved the land a good deal and built [the] house and offices', with 'the house' in this context probably referring to the return, which appears to have been in place by this stage. The occupier recorded in 1859 is a James Craig, whom C.E.B. Brett, drawing on local knowledge, describes as having originally been 'a hard-working herdsman from Scotland'. Craig must have acquired Limepark by 1853 at the latest, as both that year and his name appear on a date stone on one of the outbuildings. A valuation entry of 1888 describes the dwelling as 'a farmer's house, old and out of repair'. On the 1906 Ordnance Survey map the house is marked as 'Limepark'.

The Craig family continued to hold Limepark into the 20th century: James Craig was succeeded by his son Arthur Brooke Craig in 1900 and by his grandson James Alexander Craig in 1919. In 1959, James Alexander Craig hosted the 7th World Ploughing Championships on the farm, an event commemorated by the 'Cairn of Peace' monument erected near the front gateway. In 1984 the house underwent major renovation, during which the original roof structure was replaced, a rear extension was demolished, and the interior was largely gutted. The Craig family sold the property to the present owners in 1992, who have since converted most of the outbuildings to holiday apartments.