Newman’s Castle

July 8, 2017

Did you know that there is a real-life castle in Texas?

Mike Newman was inspired by the castles of Europe that he visited in his 20s and dreamed of having one of his own. In 1998 he set himself to the task of making that dream come true!

Newman’s Castle is located outside of Bellville, Texas, and is open for daily tours six days a week. Reservations are required.

Kristi and I took Patrick to visit. Our tour began, as they all do, at Newman’s Bakery in Bellville. (A clever starting point, I’d say, as it is easy to find the bakery, and why not buy some goodies while you’re there?) At the appointed time we were led to the castle, located in the woods a short drive from town.

Castles are fortresses. And the proper way to approach a fortress is with a well-equipped army, right? King Newman selected warriors (kids in the group) to lay siege to the castle and knock down its formidable walls. This was to be accomplished using a real-life trebuchet!

(In reality, Mr. Newman launched balls of frozen dough into the moat.)

The battle raged on for a few minutes, and finally the castle surrendered! Sadly, one of our brave knights did not survive the assault, and his lifeless body (play dead, kid!) was carried into the castle on a cart.

You’re probably familiar with the idiom, “A man’s home is his castle.” This is literally true for Mike Newman. He and the Queen actually live there in quarters styled in the theme of a medieval castle–with modern conveniences, of course.

The King gave everyone a tour of the grounds, and a very tasty lunch was provided. Afterward, we were free to explore pretty much as we pleased.

We explored nearly every part of the castle, including the chapel, the dungeon, guest rooms, and the bell tower.

Ours was one of the last groups to leave. The King told a story to the kids, and Patrick and others were paid handsomely for services rendered in battle.

Those of you who know me know that I am fascinated by architecture. I am also fascinated by individuals who possess vision and the drive to make their visions come true, especially good-hearted people like Mike Newman.

Why did Mike Newman build a castle? Well, I’m sure that the complete answer is complex, but one reason he stated to us was, “It makes people happy.” And that it most certainly does.

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Patrick and I often played Minecraft together. Newman’s Castle inspired me to build one of my own in Minecraft. My castle, Iko-Bahz, was not nearly so ambitious, though. Patrick helped in construction and provided consultation along the way. I have good memories of the two of us going on adventures from the castle of Iko-Bahz. I am so thankful for the fun times we had, both in real-life and in playing our video games.