Estate house, Foresters Belt, Drenagh Estate, 67 Broad Road, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 OQH

This is a two-story, three-bay estate house situated on the Drenagh Estate, close to Broad Road in County Londonderry. It is of interest as a surviving example of the estate’s original housing stock, most of which has been sold and renovated with a distinctive pebble-dash finish. The building’s Georgian plan contrasts with the design of the nearby 'Pheasantry' (HB02/11/0002 I), which features a more vernacular three-room layout.

The house is constructed primarily of brick with a hipped slate roof and brick chimneys positioned on either side of the central entrance hall. The windows and the front door are framed by flat brick arches, all painted white, with brickwork around the openings mimicking a quoin pattern. Above the two-panelled front door is a small fanlight, and windows flank the door, with three more aligned above. All windows have sandstone sills and sash windows with a Victorian pattern – a wider central pane flanked by smaller side lights – and a total of twelve panes of glass in each window. The main facade faces southwest towards Drenagh House (HB02/11/002A). The southeast-facing side facade is blank, while the northwest side features a Georgian-style glazed door with a fanlight, and a sash window similar to those on the front. A kitchen extension, two-thirds the width of the house, adjoins the rear, constructed of reclaimed brick with stained boarding at first floor, and featuring two wide casement windows on both ground and first floors. The main roof extends over this return unbroken. The rear elevation mirrors the northwest side’s fenestration, with casement windows at both ground and first floor levels, and further Victorian sashes align with the front of the house on the remaining section of the return. A door provides access to the kitchen at the junction of the return.

The house appears on a 1907 map but is not recorded on an Ordnance Survey map from 1848-52. Based on the Victorian sash windows set within a Georgian-style exterior, the construction date is likely the early 1860s, potentially related to estate improvements circa 1865 when Broad Road was re-routed. Like other estate properties, the house was renovated during the Second World War to accommodate Royal Air Force personnel. Frances Rhodes, designer of the Moon Garden (HB02/11/002F), occupied the house during the 1960s and may have made alterations to the hearth fireplace. The rear return was demolished and rebuilt in the late 1970s. The house is situated within flat farmland on the Drenagh Estate, with a steeply sloping, forested area leading to the Curly River to the southeast and rear.