The
power of the O’Neill chieftains in Tyrone came to an end in 1607.
Defeated in battle by English forces and fearful for their future,
Hugh O’Neill and his allies fled Ireland in what has become known
as the Flight of the Earls. Their lands were declared forfeit to
the crown and were in turn granted to English and Scottish gentry
as part of the Plantation of Ulster. The lands around
Newtownstewart were granted to a James Clapham but were soon sold
to Sir Robert Newcomen. Under the plantation scheme new landowners
were required 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, 4 stories high. Around it is a Bawn of lime and
stone, 81 feet long, 66 feet long and 9 feet high, with 2
flankers.”
In 1629 the lands and castle were sold to Sir William Stewart, of
Newtown Stewart in Galloway, Scotland, who renamed the town after
his family and birthplace.
Today only its south-west and north-west walls and a little of the
south-east return survive. The most distinctive feature is the
triple gables to the street, with the tall chimney-stack over the
smaller centre gable. The stepped gables are a Scottish feature
while the 8-pointed, star-shaped brick chimney-stack is derived
from England. Half of a fine door survives near the south corner
with a frustrating half date, 16.., on the remaining stone. Other
features include the mullioned windows, clearly domestic and not
defensive, fireplaces, a circular projecting stair tower, and a
rectangular tower at the north east corner, perhaps a flanker tower
on the bawn wall. The archways in the interior remain from its use
as the town market place in the C19th. The castle was burned by Sir
Phelim O’Neill in 1641 and again by King James in 1689, on his
retreat from Londonderry.
Stewart Castle has also the distinction of being the site of a
significant Bronze Age discovery : An intact double cist grave and
capstone.
The cache is a 35mm film container with black camo tape. Please be
very discreet when finding and replacing.
Information taken from www.discovernorthernireland.com
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