Stewartstown

Stewartstown
Tyrone
Looking north towards the main street
Location
Grid reference:	H8570
Location:	54°34’48"N, 6°40’12"W
Data
Population:	608  (2001)
Post town:	Dungannon
Postcode:	BT71
Dialling code:	028
Local Government
Council:	Mid-Ulster
Parliamentary constituency:	Mid Ulster

Stewartstown is a small village in Tyrone, close to the shore of Lough Neagh. It is about 5 miles from Cookstown, 3 miles from Coalisland and 7 miles from Dungannon. In the 2001 it had a population of 608 people.

History

Stewartstown was built by Andrew Stewart (1560–1629), 3rd Lord Stewart of Ochiltree, 1st Lord Castlestewart. He was a direct descendant of Robert II of Scotland, by a younger son, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. He held the High Court position of First Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James I of England (James VI of Scotland). He held the office of General of Edinburgh Castle, and gained the rank of General in the Artillery. In 1611 he settled in Ulster, where he was granted 3,000 acres in County Tyrone, and later other large tracts of land in Ulster too. In 1615, with the King's consent, he sold and resigned the Barony of Ochiltree to his first cousin, Sir James Stuart, son of James Stewart, Earl of Arran, in order to raise money. In its stead, in 1619, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland and created Baron Castlestewart by King James I. No parliament sat between the years of 1615 and 1634, so he never voted in Parliament, but constantly enjoyed the title. In 1587, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Kennedy of Blairquhan Castle, Ayrshire.

Lord Castlestewart was the ancestor of Earl Castle Stewart.

(William Greer (22 September 1909 – 23 February 1985), born in Stewartstown, was an agent of the U S Secret Service, best known for having driven President John F. Kennedy's automobile in the motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas on 22 November 1963, when the president was assassinated.)

About and around the village

Roughan Castle was built circa 1618 by Sir Andrew Stewart (d. 1639), 2nd Lord Castlestewart, eldest son of Andrew Stewart (1580–1629), 3rd Lord Ochiltree, 1st Lord Castlestewart, who came from Scotland during the Plantation and established the nearby town of Stewartstown. The 2nd Lord Castlestewart built his castle overlooking Roughan Lough. It is a small square castle, three storeys high with a central tower 20 feet square, flanked by thick rounded towers at each corner.

Transport

• Stewartstown railway station opened on 28 July 1879, closed for passenger traffic on 16 January 1956 and finally closed altogether on 1 June 1958.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stewartstown)