Harry Avery's Castle

Harry Avery's Castle lies in a field, southwest of the town of Newtownstewart, in County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland.

Harry Avery's Castle is thought to have been built around 1320 by a local chieftain of the O’Neill clan. The castle is named after Harry Avery (Henry Aimbreidh O’Neill) a local chief who died in 1392.

The castle consisted of a two-storey rectangular construction fronted by the remaining massive D-shaped twin towers (resembling a gatehouse) projecting from the south face of an artificially scarped knoll, whose sides have been revetted by a wall to form a polygonal enclosure. This two-story tower building would have functioned as a tower house and there would have been several wooden structures inside the enclosure.

The castle was captured by the English in 1609. Subsequently, it was used as a quarry for building material.

Harry Avery's Castle is freely accessible provided that you leave the grazing livestock alone. Although there isn't very much left of this castle I like it a lot, especially its deserted location with great views of the surrounding countryside and the valley of the River Derg. Newtownstewart Castle is close by.

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