Newmore Castle (2 of 2)
Newmore Castle was a tower-house, said to have been of three storeys, of which only the ground floor of the oblong main block and a little bit more of the circular stair-tower on the east angle remains.  The building is very well defended with gun-loops.  The basement is vaulted and its roof appears to be used as a BBQ area or as a place to sit out and enjoy the midges on a summer's evening!

It was built in 1625 by a younger son of the Munros of Milntown, an offshoot of the Munros of Foulis.

The best known son of the family was Sir George Munro, 1st of Newmore (and presumably the builder of the castle).  He went to Sweden to take part in the 30 Years War, where he quickly distinguished himself.  Under Gustavus Adolphus, he commanded the left wing of the Swedish army at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632.  A Covenanter, he spent the early 1640s fighting the O'Neils in Ireland, putting down a rebellion in Ulster in 1642 and capturing Belfast in 1644.  A Covenanter for religious reasons, he was at heart a royalist and in 1648 switched sides and was appointed a General by King Charles I.  Knighted by the king in 1649, he commanded the king's forces following the Restoration in 1660 and was also elected a member of parliament.  He died here on 11 July 1693.
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