Texas–the land of BBQ, country music, pick-up trucks, and…castles?! Yes, it’s true! Newman’s Castle in Texas is a surprising place in the middle of a rural Texas town, and it’s open for visitors! So if you’re curious what a Texas castle is like and how to visit it, read on!
About Newman’s Castle
Newman’s Castle is the personal project and private residence of local baker Mike Newman, who own’s Newman’s Bakery in the town of Bellville. While his bakery buzzes with visitors, there’s perhaps even more buzz about his slightly whimsical decision to build himself a castle in the middle of Texas.
He spent many years constructing his new castle himself (and there are still a few uncompleted rooms) but he has now opened it up for guests to visit and explore his impressive fairytale home.
Inside Newman’s Castle
Newman’s Castle features many classic castle attributes from your favorite fairytales or medieval castles. Before you explore the castle, however, you first listen to a presentation by Newman himself wearing a king’s crown and telling you a bit about his castle and how it came to be.
During this time, he also tells a story for the children (who are allowed to pick out a wooden sword) and he knights them. At this point, I was a little worried that the whole tour experience would be a bit kitschy and geared toward children, but in the end it was a good experience. And kids are certain to love this knighting and presentation!
After explaining about his castle, he took us all over to his working trebuchet (a type of catapult) which he demonstrated by launching. It was fun to experience and he and his staff make sure everyone stands back so no one gets hurt.
After the presentation finished, we were all allowed to wander and explore the castle on our own and at our own pace. There are a lot of areas to explore!
As you enter the castle, you’ll cross a moat and see a working 3,000 pound drawbridge and portcullis that is operated by walking inside the wheel in the castle. If you so choose, you can climb up into it to experience what it’s like to stand on it, although of course children require adult supervision to do this.
There are also plenty of stairs to climb and rooms to explore, many with beds (and one even with bunk beds hanging from the roof with chains). But some of the most impressively finished rooms include the long dining hall and the main living area complete with furnishings.
The main living area also features a kitchen, which is where the provided sandwich lunch and a host of donuts, cookies, and cakes from Newman’s Bakery are provided for you to eat. The donuts were especially delicious, with the blueberry donuts being one of my favorites.
Another feature of this castle is the working bells installed up high in a bell tower. You can ring the bells, but you’ll want to yell upstairs to see if anyone is actually in the room with the bells as it can be deafening (and startling) if someone rings them while you’re in there.
After ringing the bells, you will definitely want to climb the stairs so you can see a view of the castle from the top. You can, also, climb all the way out on top of the bell tower if you would like, but at the point where the stairs ended and the ladders began I felt like there were not quite enough safety precautions so I only went as far as sticking my head into the bell room.
You’ll also find a cute little chapel room that is set up reminiscent of chapels in the UK, and of course, there is also a dungeon that you should visit. It’s not actually underground, but there are two levels to it…one where you can find various torture devices like a bed of nails and the stocks, and an upstairs level where you’ll find the likes of skeletons forced into “the wheel of fortune” (you’ll have to visit to see for yourself).
On a visit, you’ll also get to see his giant Irish wolfhound named Avalon who loves chasing after the rocks launched by the catapult, and also tries to sneak donuts from the guests (she’s not allowed so don’t feed her!). And if that’s not worth visiting for, I don’t know what is!
It is worth noting that this castle was originally meant to be solely a private residence and not to support large tour groups (there were approximately 80-100 people the day of my tour). As such, it was not built with outside visitors in mind. After exploring all of the castle, I do feel that there are a few safety issues that may need to be addressed to bring it up to code where it is fully safe for visitors…nothing super dangerous, just some stairs that may make you feel slightly uneasy or the setup of the ladders in the bell tower. I think it is worth visiting, but just use caution while you are there.
Overall, Newman’s Castle is fun to explore for children and for adults. It’s a fascinating concept and cool to see how he has executed his vision, and how he has opened it up for the public to enjoy seeing as well!
How to Visit Newman’s Castle
This castle stands just outside of Bellville, Texas and offers tours 6 days a week. These tours start at 10:30am and reservations are required.
In order to visit, you will need to make reservations by calling 979-865-9804. This is the number for Newman’s Bakery in Bellville, and you can simply tell them you are interested in booking a tour of the castle for the date of your choice.
You may also be able to reserve it for a special event like a wedding, wine tasting, or birthday party. Simply call to inquire about availability.
On the day of your tour, you’ll show up at Newman’s Bakery on 504 E. Main Street by 10:30am. I recommend getting there a bit earlier, though, as the tour starts at 10:30 and you will want to be at the castle by then.
After you pay your entrance fee at the bakery, they will give you a slip of paper with the actual castle address on it. Because this is Mike Newman’s private residence, only those who are going on the tour will be given the address.
The castle is only a short distance away, though (about 5 miles), so you will soon be there. A sandwich lunch and bakery treats are included in the price of your tour, and you can expect the tour to last for around 2 hours (although you are welcome to leave the castle earlier if you so choose).
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Very cool! Never knew we had such a beautiful castle in Texas. Its just less than 4 hours from us so this is def on our road trip list.
It is a really fun place – I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing it!