Newmore Castle is situated just north of the town of Alness

Alness

Alness is a town and civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon to the east and the village of Evanton to the south west...

 in Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...

, Highland

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

The castle is now a ruin. It was once a three storey building, however it is now been reduced to a single storey building with a barrel-vaulted roof remaining. There is also the lower remains of a stair turret which once led to the upper floors, giving access to what was formerly a first floor hall. The ground floor entrance, protected by gun ports also still remains.

The castle is mentioned in records from as early as 1560 and it also gave safe keeping to the 'evidents and writs' of Foulis

Foulis Castle

Foulis Castle lies in the parish of Kiltearn, about 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Evanton in the Highland area of northern Scotland. The castle has been the seat of the Clan Munro for over eight hundred years. During the 11th century, the clan chief was given the castle and Foulis lands as...

. The castle is mentioned as belonging to Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown

Munros of Milntown

The Munros of Milntown were a family cadet branch of the Highland Clan Munro. They were the 'senior' cadet branch of the clan and spawned many cadet branches. They were frequently recorded as 'Monro' as well as Munro...

 who was known as Andrew Munro of Newmore during his father's lifetime.

Later during the 17th century another line of the Munro family owned the castle. The most famous owner of the castle was George Munro, 1st of Newmore

George Munro, 1st of Newmore

Sir George Munro, 1st of Newmore was a 17th century Scottish soldier and member of parliament from the Clan Munro, Ross-shire, Scotland. He was seated at Newmore Castle.-Lineage:...

, brother to Sir Robert Munro, 3rd Baronet of Foulis the chief of the Clan Munro

Clan Munro

-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...

. George Munro commanded the forces of King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 after the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in Great Britain. When public duties allowed George Munro received visitors at the castle with a 'coarse but cordial' soldier's entertainment.

Newmore Castle remained with this line of the Munro family for several generations before passing to the Munro of Culrain line in 1763. It fell into disrepair during the 19th century.