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

Limepark is a substantial two-storey gabled farmhouse, probably dating from around 1760, with a later projecting porch. It stands close to the northwest side of Drones Road, roughly half a mile south of Armoy, accompanied by a large collection of mainly mid-19th-century two- and single-storey rubble-built outbuildings, most now converted to holiday apartments.

The house comprises a main section to the north with a large projecting single-storey porch on the front elevation. To the rear of the main section 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 house section extends a single-storey shed with 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, with the house itself largely finished in coloured limewash. The outbuildings are finished in bare stone with brick dressings to the openings. The roof of the house and the return is gabled and slated.

The front elevation of the house features the relatively large single-storey porch at the centre of the ground floor. The porch has a doorway with panelled timber door to its west face and a similar doorway to the east face, which appears to be a relatively recent insertion. To the north face is a large square window with fixed timber frame with multiple Georgian panes and narrower margin panes. The porch walls are finished as the main house section, but with 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 forms a shallow pediment. To either side of the porch are two windows with horned timber sash frames with Georgian panes (six over six). To the first floor are five similar but marginally shorter windows. The frames in all these windows appear to be recent replacements, as are most of those to the rest of the house and the outbuildings.

The ground floor level of the east gable of the main house section is abutted by the shed. To the first floor is a window, as on the front, to the left. There is a similar window to the right on the ground floor of the west gable. The south elevation is abutted to the left of centre by the two-storey return. To the left of the return on the ground floor is a doorway with modern glazed timber door, this doorway appearing to be a relatively recent insertion. To the left on the first floor is a window, as on the front. To the right of the return on the ground floor is a broad, obviously enlarged doorway with modern glazed timber door with sidelights. To the first floor directly above this is a window with modern timber casement frame identical to the door on the ground floor. This window, a recent insertion, has an unusual corbelled sill.

To the east face of the return is a window to the far left with horned timber sash frame (two over two). To the right is a doorway with timber-sheeted door. To the right again is another window, as before but with a broader sash box. To the right is a smaller segmental-headed window with timber frame with leaded stained glass to the upper pane. To the right again is a broad doorway, as that to the rear elevation of the main house section. Finally, to the far right, is a conventional-sized doorway with partly glazed timber door with margin panes and coloured glass. To the first floor are two narrow windows with side-hung timber frames and bevelled sills. To the right are two windows, same as those to the front elevation of the main house section. The right-hand third of this face of the return is limewashed in similar fashion to the main house section.

To the far left on the ground floor of the west face of the return is a small window with side-hung timber frame. To the right is a much broader, enlarged window with timber casement frame. To the right again is a smaller window with horned timber sash frame (two over two). To the first floor are three windows of roughly similar size, all with timber frames, that to the far left with a top-hung opener, the others side-hung. The left-hand third of this face of the return is limewashed.

The main house section has a rendered chimneystack to each gable. There is a rendered stack to the ridge of the return. The rainwater goods appear to be largely, if not wholly, cast-iron.

The outbuildings belonging to this property are extensive, particularly so in relation to the size of the house itself. Most of these outbuildings are built of rubble (basalt) with brick dressings to the openings, with gabled or hipped slated roofs. Most have been renovated or restored and converted to holiday apartments in recent years, with some to the southeast currently undergoing, or awaiting, renovation.

Outbuilding A is the largest single component of the whole outbuilding grouping and is attached to the return of the house. This is largely two-storey and stretches south along gently rising ground, the roofline stepping up slightly at two points to cope with the changing level. To the east face of this section are three relatively small square windows to the left, with timber frames of varying description (some side-hung). To the right of these is a pedestrian doorway with timber-sheeted stable door, then another small window, another doorway and another window, all much as before (side-hung four-pane frames and so forth). To the right again is a vehicle doorway with concrete lintel and part-glazed timber-sheeted folding door. To the far right is another (pedestrian) doorway with concrete lintel and part-glazed timber-sheeted door. To the first floor are two very small windows to the right with side-hung timber frames.

The south gable of this section has a doorway to the right on the ground floor, with timber-sheeted door and cement-rendered surround suggesting the opening is a recent insertion. To the upper floor is another doorway reached via a rubble-built flight of steps with recent metal railings. This doorway has a partly glazed timber door; the surrounding stonework and brickwork suggests the opening was once considerably larger.

To the west face of this section is a small window to the far left with side-hung timber frame. To the immediate right is a doorway with partly glazed timber door. To the right again is a tall pointed-arch window (a recent insertion) with timber Georgian-paned gothic frame. A distance to the right of this, beyond a point where the façade projects forward slightly, are three small windows all with timber side-hung frames. These windows do not appear to be original. To the first floor are three windows with frames similar to previous.

The gabled roof of Outbuilding A is slated and has two brick chimneystacks, one to the ridge, the other (further to the north) to 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 side.

Outbuilding B, to the far right of Outbuilding A, is abutted by a large single-storey outbuilding with a Belfast Truss roof. Judging from a date stone, this building may date from 1853, was extended or modified in 1903 (undoubtedly the present roof was added at this stage) and again in 1961 when the front face probably assumed its current appearance. The south-facing front face has a stepped parapet, is finished in dry dash and has two vehicle doorways with timber-sheeted doors, one door being partly glazed. The north face is in rubble interspersed with courses of brick, the curve of the roof clearly visible. This face has a broad doorway to the right, with timber-sheeted door, with two segmental-headed windows to the left, with Georgian-paned fixed timber frames. The roof is covered in corrugated-iron and there is a small brick chimneystack to the north (flush with the north face).

Attached to the west side of Outbuilding B is Outbuilding grouping C, a U-shaped single-storey shed grouping arranged around a relatively small yard, with a short additional building and some rubble walling to the west (outside of the yard). The walls of the buildings making up this grouping are largely constructed in rubble, with a mixture of gabled and mono-pitched roofs slated, however the building to the east side has breeze block walls whilst its roof is covered in corrugated-iron and corrugated asbestos. The openings (of which there are few) are largely devoid of doors or window frames. There are two relatively large doorways to the south face of the building to the north side, both of which appear to be recent insertions. The most interesting aspect of this grouping is the north elevation, which consists of a long façade of rubble interspersed with courses of brick, in similar fashion to the north face of Outbuilding B. This façade has three slit openings set at a high level with two at a slightly lower level and a larger window opening at this level to the far right.

Outbuildings D and E lie to the east side of the site, east of Outbuilding A. These are two L-shaped blocks arranged around what is now a small vegetable patch or garden. Outbuilding D, to the north, is wholly single-storey and appears to be still used as a shed, whereas Outbuilding E is single-storey to the east and two-storey to the south, the latter section housing more holiday apartments and the former a small tea room of sorts. Both blocks are constructed as most of the other outbuildings, with rubble walls, with a mixture of gabled, hipped and mono-pitched slated roofs, with 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 a window to the far left with fixed timber frame, with a doorway with timber-sheeted stable door to the right. To the right again is a somewhat narrower doorway with conventional timber-sheeted door and plain rectangular fanlight. To the right of this is the brick outline of a low segmental-headed arch. Just above this are two small high-level windows with leaded stained glass. The coursing of the stonework and brickwork to this face suggests that the arrangement of the openings has been altered. To the south face of this section are two doorways, both with timber-sheeted doors, the one to the right partly glazed.

To the west face of the east section of Outbuilding D is a window to the far left with fixed timber frame, then a doorway with sliding timber door, then a larger window with timber sash frame with Georgian panes (six over six), then another doorway with timber-sheeted door. To the east face of this section is a single doorway, much as previous only broader. To the south-facing gable of this section is a small window to the left with timber shutters over. There is a smaller high-level window near the apex of the gable with a timber four-pane frame. A small gabled extension has been added to the right-hand side of this gable, this has a doorway to its west face with 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.

To the east face of the north section of Outbuilding E are three small evenly-spaced windows with timber casement frames and rough cement render surrounds. To the west face is a symmetrical arrangement of four relatively large uniform windows and a central doorway. The windows have timber sash frames (two over two) and the doorway has a partly glazed timber door. All of these openings appear to be recent.

To the north face of the two-storey south section is a low but broad segmental-headed doorway to the left on the ground floor, with partly glazed timber door with sidelights. There is a similar doorway to the right, and between these doorways is a window with timber sash frame with Georgian panes (six over six). To the first floor are four windows, similar to those on the east face of the north section.

To the west gable of the south section is a high-level doorway with timber-sheeted door and rough cement render surround. This doorway is reached via stone steps with recent metal railings. To the ground floor of the south elevation are three unevenly-spaced windows with timber sash frames (four over four). Between the second and third windows is a doorway with partly glazed timber door. All of the ground floor openings have rough brick dressings, suggesting they are not original. To the first floor are four windows similar to those on the first floor of the north elevation.

The east gable of this section and the east face of the north section of Outbuilding D both back into a tall but uneven rubble wall which runs alongside the roadside to the east of the property. This wall is blank apart from a doorway (with timber-sheeted door) which leads 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 gabled structure with a large lean-to section to the east end. It is partly ruinous; however, a small section to the east is currently undergoing renovation for use as a small holiday apartment. This section has a rebuilt north face with several window openings and a doorway, and its roof is slated. The remainder of the structure to the west of this is partly open to the east side and has a corrugated-iron roof. The openings to this section are devoid of doors or window frames. The lean-to section to the east end has a grass-covered roof.

As mentioned above, a long shed stretches from the east gable of the house. This shed appears to have been largely rebuilt in recent years and has been extended to the south side with the addition of a slightly lower full-length section in rubble and brick with three large doorways, two with timber-sheeted double doors, the other completely open, and a corrugated-iron roof (which is almost flat). The original taller 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 of the shed has the appearance of a tall rubble wall, with little to suggest the presence of a building beyond, save a small rendered chimneystack. This wall has several high-level slit openings, whilst, to the right-hand side, there is a low segmental-headed archway with wrought-iron gate. The east face of the shed backs directly onto the roadside, flush with the wall mentioned above.

In front of the house is a gravel forecourt with a small lawn to the east and much larger lawn to the west and southwest. The forecourt and lawn to the east are enclosed from the roadside by a limewashed rubble wall with rough stone coping. The wall curves in to a gateway with rough rounded piers with stone caps and simple wrought-iron gates. The areas of yard between the outbuildings have been paved, in recent times, with small square blocks; however, the areas to the south and west around the largely unused outbuildings are not paved.