Description
Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Thought to have been built around 1320 by a local Chieftain of the O’Neill clan named Harry Avery (Henry Aimbreidh). This structure is considered extremely unusual because Irish chieftains of the time rarely built stone castles.
The design of Harry Avery’s Castle is also unusual. Its two towers look like a gatehouse similar to that of Carrickfergus Castle, but in reality it served a similar function to a medieval tower house. Getting to the courtyard behind would thus have involved climbing a flight of stairs. Behind the towers a large mound forms the courtyard. This was surrounded by a curtain wall of which only the foundations remain today.
There would have been many wooden buildings such as kitchens and stables in the courtyard & also local soldier’s homes would have been scattered all around these fields, unfortunately no evidence of these survives today.
