Newtownstewart

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Newtownstewart is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and is at the confluence of the River Strule and the Owenkillew River. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,479 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area.

1 History
2 Places of interest
3 2001 Census
4 References
5 See also

[edit] History

King James II spent the night here in 1689 on his way back from the unsuccessful assault on Derry. He got up next morning in a bad mood and ordered the Stewart castle, and the town, to be burnt down. In the main street a piece of the castle wall still stands.
The Northern Bank building on the corner was the scene of a famous murder in 1871 when bank cashier William Glass was killed and robbed of £1,600. District Inspector Montgomery, of the Royal Irish Constabulary, who was in charge of the case, turned out to be the murderer. The local flute band has been in existence since 1979.

[edit] Places of interest

Three miles to the south west lies Baronscourt, the country seat of the Duke of Abercorn with its neo-classical mansion and ornate Italian style gardens, the home of the Duke of Abercorn’s family since 1612. It also features an 18 hole golf course in the estate.
Half a mile south-west of Newtownstewart, on a hill, is ruined Harry Avery's Castle, a 14th century Gaelic stone castle - most unusual in Ulster. Only the massive D-shaped twin towers of the keep, built by Henry Aimbreidh O' Neil (Harry Avery O'Neill) (died 1392), are left.
Newtownstewart also has the plantation castle of the Stewart family, where an intact Bronze Age cist grave was found. It was excavated in 1999. Stewart Castle was built in 1619 by Sir Robert Newcomen in an English manor house style. It suffered extensive damage during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and its subsequent capture by Sir Phelim O' Neill, and in 1689 on King James' return from the Siege of Derry. The castle has remained a ruin ever since

[edit] 2001 Census

Newtownstewart is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250. On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,479 people living in Newtownstewart. Of these:

22.8% were aged under 16 years and 18.7% were aged 60 and over
50.5% of the population were male and 49.5% were female
54.7% were from a Catholic background and 45.1% were from a Protestant background
5.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service