Overview
The ruin at the centre of Newtownstewart was never a fortress. It went up around 1615 as a manor house for Sir Robert Newcomen – domestic mullioned windows, fireplaces, an eight-pointed star-shaped brick chimney in the English style over stepped Scottish gables – and it was burned out twice within a lifetime. What survives is a tall shell of triple gables facing the street, now framing the old market square, with half a carved door near the south corner still showing half its date: 16, and then nothing.
The village around it sits in the Sperrin foothills where the Strule and Owenkillew rivers meet, below the two hills of Bessy Bell and Mary Gray. It keeps the grid the Ulster Plantation gave it, church at one end and castle at the other, and had a population of 1,414 at the 2021 census. If you have half an hour, spend it at the castle; everything else here is a bonus.
The castle and its two fires
Sir Phelim O’Neill burned the castle in the 1641 rebellion. It was rebuilt, then torched again in 1689 – this time by King James II himself, retreating from the failed Siege of Derry. The walls that remain, the south-west and north-west sides, were later opened with archways and pressed into service as the town market place in the 19th century, which is why the ruin stands at the heart of the square rather than off on a hill.
Older still is what lies beneath. A dig under the castle uncovered an intact Bronze Age double cist grave and its capstone, so the ground was being used for burial thousands of years before Newcomen chose the spot. Interpretive panels near the entrance cover all of this. Guided tours by the Newtownstewart Heritage Group run in the warmer months and get you closer to the upper walls – but they are weekend-only from April to October, so on a weekday out of season you are looking at the ruin through the railings.
The bridge and Harry Avery’s Castle
The town grew at a river crossing, and the ford was replaced in 1727 by a six-arch stone bridge that still stands. From it, riverside paths follow the water toward the Owenkillew. Newtownstewart was made a Conservation Area in April 1993 – one of only five in the district – for the coherence of its Plantation streetscape.
About a mile south-west, reached by a short path, stand the remains of Harry Avery’s Castle, a rare 14th-century Gaelic tower built by the O’Neills – one of four O’Neill castles that once ringed the town, and the only one you can still make out. The path is muddy after rain; wear boots.
Walking and fishing
The best-known walk climbs Bessy Bell and Mary Gray, the paired hills above the village, on marked paths through heather and peat to views over the Tyrone midlands and the Sperrins. Allow around two hours for the round trip and wear proper footwear – the ground stays wet. The Strule and Owenkillew draw coarse anglers to marked banks along both rivers, and a heritage-trail leaflet from the tourist office ties the castle, bridge and O’Neill ruins into a walking loop.
Practical information
- Getting there: Newtownstewart is off the A5. Regular buses connect it to Derry and Omagh, so you can reach it without a car.
- Parking: free on Townhall Street and the Strabane Road; charges may apply if you stay over two hours.
- Admission: the castle grounds and market square are open year-round, free of charge. Guided tours run weekends, April to October – check the official listing for times.
- Facilities: public toilets near the bridge; a café on Main Street for coffee and a bite. Leaflets and the heritage-trail map are at the tourist office on Church Street.
Nearby
- Baronscourt: a country estate a short drive north, with formal gardens and woodland walks.
- Sperrin Mountains: forest walks, quiet loughs and biking trails all within a short drive.
- Harry Avery’s Castle: the 14th-century O’Neill tower just outside the village (see above).