Newtownstewart Castle

Prominently situated at the bottom of the main street of Newtownstewart and a striking feature since the early 17th century, the castle stands at the top of a slope down to the River Strule and is the third defensive sites in this area. The castle was originally built around 1619 by Sir Robert Newcomen and later modified by his son-in-law Sir William Stewart after 1628.

The castle was built as part of the plantation scheme that instructed new landowners to build a castle on their estate. Newcomen began work in 1615 and by 1622 the castle was described as “a castle of lime and stone, four stories high. Around it is a Bawn of lime and stone, 81 feet long, 66 feet long and 9 feet high, with 2 flankers.”

Today only its south-west and north-west walls and a little of the south-east corner survive. The most distinctive feature is the triple gable to the street, with the tall chimney-stack over the smaller centre gable.

Other features include the mullioned windows (windows divided by vertical bars or piers usually of stone) and are clearly domestic rather than defensive. There are also fireplaces, a circular projecting stair tower, and a rectangular tower at the north east corner.