3 Main Street, Armoy, Ballymoney, County Antrim, BT53 8RQ

Large three-storey end-of-terrace building, constructed around 1840, situated at the end of Main Street in Armoy, with its front elevation facing roughly south. The building was possibly purpose-built as a house rather than a police station, though its domestic appearance is notable given that it served as a Constabulary barracks for much of the mid to later 19th century. It currently functions as a shop with an apartment above.

The front elevation is asymmetrical and finished in painted lined render with a bevelled base course and raised 'in-out' quoins. Slightly left of centre at ground floor level is the main entrance — a large elliptical-arched opening containing a recessed panelled timber double door and an elliptical fanlight with distinctive petal tracery. The opening is framed by reeded pilasters and a moulded archivolt with keystone, though the pilasters have a sharp appearance suggesting they are recent replacements. To the left of the entrance is a relatively small window with a moulded surround and a horned timber sash window with plate glass. To the right is a shop front with recently added period-style detailing, comprising a large window with three segmental arch-headed lights, fluted pilaster jambs with decorative brackets, and a painted signboard. At first-floor level there are three uniform but unevenly spaced windows, matching the style of the ground-floor left window. At second-floor level there are three shorter windows with modern timber frames designed to resemble sash windows; these lack surrounds. Decorative railings have been placed along this side of the building.

The east gable is finished in the same manner as the front elevation but has no openings. The rear elevation of the main building is finished in unpainted roughcast with a recessed smooth cement render base course and raised 'in-out' quoins, with smooth cement render surrounds to the openings. At first-floor level on the rear there is a window with a horned timber sash frame and plate glass. A large two-storey lean-to projection has been added to the right-hand, western side of the rear elevation, apparently during renovations around 1990 and not shown on 1970s Ordnance Survey maps. The north face of this projection has a small window with a modern timber frame and a doorway with a recent timber door with a small glazed panel at ground floor, and a broad window with a modern timber frame at first floor. On the east face of the projection there is an upper-level doorway with a recent timber-sheeted door with a small glazed panel and strap hinges, accessed via a modern metal fire-escape stair. The wall edges of the projection are finished in smooth cement render. The gabled roof is slated to the front but appears to be covered in asbestos slates to the rear, with a small Velux window at the back. The roof covering of the lean-to projection could not be determined. There are two rendered chimneystacks. Rainwater goods are cast iron to the front and PVCu to the rear.

To the rear of the building is a concrete-covered yard. On the north side of this yard stands a large two-storey gabled outbuilding, finished in the same manner as the rear elevation of the main building, with modern window frames, recently replaced doors, and a corrugated-iron roof.

The site is shown undeveloped on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832, but a building matching the footprint of the present structure appears on the revised map of 1857. The 1859 valuation records the property as occupied by the Constabulary force, who leased it from a James McBride, with recorded dimensions of 11 yards by 8 yards over 3 storeys, and an outbuilding of 12 by 5 yards over 2 storeys. The valuers assigned the building a grade of 1B+, consistent with a construction date of around 1840 or slightly earlier. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1835 note the number of new buildings then under construction in Armoy, and this may have been among them. The Constabulary retained the building until 1895, when it was leased to a James Blair. In 1903 a Daniel Morrison took over both the lease and the freehold. The Morrison family remained in possession until 1963, when the valuation book records a Margaret Cusick as occupant, with a Reverend McAllister as leaseholder. A survey photograph from October 1972 shows a shop front already in place by that date, with Ms Cusick operating a draper's shop from the premises. It continued as a draper's until at least 1979, and had been converted to a chip shop by August 1986. According to the present owner, the building was gutted and completely renovated around 1990, at which point the rear projection was added.

Despite extensive and in places detrimental renovations, the building retains good proportions, its original window openings to the front elevation, and the impressive petal-tracery fanlight and door surround, all of which combine to give it a strong architectural character and a prominent presence in the village.