Oswestry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Oswestry | |
|
Oswestry shown within Shropshire | |
| Population | Civil parish: 15,613 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Oswestry |
| Shire county | Shropshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OSWESTRY |
| Postcode district | SY10, SY11 |
| Dialling code | 01691 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | North Shropshire |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Shropshire | |
Oswestry is a town in Shropshire, England, very close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads.
The town is the administrative headquarters of the borough of Oswestry and is the third largest town in Shropshire with a population of 17,181 [1], after Telford and Shrewsbury.
Contents |
[edit] Prehistory : Iron Age fort
The area has long been settled. Old Oswestry is the site of a large Iron Age hill fort with evidence for occupation dating back to the 550s BC.
[edit] Saxon times
The Battle of Maesfield is thought to have been fought here in 642, between the Anglo-Saxon kings Penda and Oswald. Oswald was killed in this battle and was dismembered; according to a legend, one of his arms was carried to an ash tree by a bird, an eagle, and miracles were subsequently attributed to the tree (as Oswald was considered a saint). Thus it is believed that the name of the site derived from a reference to "Oswald's Tree". The spring Oswald's Well is supposed to have originated where the bird dropped the arm from the tree. Offa's Dyke runs nearby to the west.
[edit] Border town
The town, being very close to Wales, has many Welsh street and place names and the town's name in Welsh is Croesoswallt, meaning Oswald's Cross. The Domesday Book records a castle being built by Rainald, a Norman Sheriff of Shropshire: "L'oeuvre" (meaning "the work" in French) (which was reduced to a pile of rocks during the English Civil War), and the town changed hands between English and Welsh a number of times during the Middle Ages. Oswestry was attacked by the forces of Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr during the early years of his rebellion against the English King Henry IV in 1400, it became known as Pentrepoeth or 'hot town' as it was burned and nearly totally destroyed by the Welsh.
[edit] Market town
In 1190 the town was granted the right to hold a market each Wednesday[1]. After the foot and mouth outbreak in the late 1960s the animal market was moved out of the town center. In the 1990s, a statue of a shepherd and sheep were installed in the market square as a memorial to the history of the market site. With the weekly influx of Welsh farmers the town folk were often bilingual. The town built walls for protection, but these were torn down by the Parliamentarians after they took the town after a brief siege on 22 June 1644, leaving only the Newgate Pillar visible today.
[edit] Attractions
Attractions in and around Oswestry include Whittington Castle (in nearby Whittington), Shelf Bank and the Cambrian Railway Museum and the Old Station Visitor Centre. The town is famous for its high number of public houses per head of population. There are around 30 in the town today. They still offer excellent real ales, real fires and a warm welcomes. A story incorporating the names of all of the pubs once open in Oswestry can be found hanging on the walls of The Oak on Church Street.
The parish church is almost a 1,000 years old with the Norman tower dating from 1085. There is also 12 other churches in the town including a Welsh Presbyterian in Victoria Road.[2]
[edit] Railway town
Oswestry no longer has an active railway, although the buildings of the former railway station occupy a prominent place in the town. These building were reopened as the Cambrian Railways Visitor Centre in June 2006. The nearest active station is at Gobowen.
[edit] Education
As well as numerous primary schools in or just outside Oswestry, there are two private schools, Oswestry School and Moreton Hall, and a comprehensive, The Marches School and Technology College. In addition, post-16 education is provided by Walford and North Shropshire College.
The town also has a noted specialist orthopaedic hospital the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt[3].
[edit] Places of Worship
A list of places of worship is held by the Borough. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- Church of England Part of the Diocese of Litchfield[4].
- Roman Catholic - The town of Oswestry and surronding villages fall into the parish of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Oswald, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury [Region A - Shropshire]
- Methodist
- Horeb Church, Welsh Methodist, Victoria Road
- Oswestry Methodist Church
- Baptist - Cornertone Baptist is on the corner of Lower Brook Street and Roft Street in a modern 1970s building[7].
- Other Nonconformist
- United Reformed / Presbyterian
- Christ Church - Now United Reformed Church but was Congregationalist[10].
- Seion Church (Welsh Speaking)
- Religious Society of Friends Quakers[11]
- Anglican (Western Rite) - The Holy Anglican Church
- Jehovah's Witness Coney Green
[edit] Sporting traditions
The former local football club, Oswestry Town F.C., was one of the few English teams to compete in the League of Wales. Oswestry Town folded due to financial difficulties in 2003 and merged with Total Network Solutions F.C. of Llansantffraid, a village eight miles (13 km) away on the Welsh side of the border. Following the takeover of the club's sponsor in 2006, the club renamed itself as The New Saints They moved to the redeveloped Park Hall Stadium on the outskirts of the town in September 2007.
[edit] Military history
Park Hall, a mile east of the town was one of the most impressive Tudor buildings in the country. It was taken over by the Army in 1915 and used as a training camp. On 26 December 1918 it burnt to the ground following an electrical fault. The ruined hall and camp remained derelict between the wars.[12] For decades following World War 2, Oswestry was a prominent military centre for Canadian troops, later British Royal Artillery and latterly, a very successful training centre for 16-18 year old Infantry Junior Leaders. This long and proud military connection came to an ignominious end in the mid-1970s, shortly after some local licensed wildfowlers were shot by the young military guard one winter's night, mistaken for an attacking IRA force, as the locals discharged their shotguns at some passing ducks.
[edit] Notable Oswestrians
- Jesse Armstrong, TV comedy writer.
- Frank Bough, British television presenter.
- Thomas Bray, theologian.
- Henry Walford Davies, composer.
- Ian Hunter (singer), Musician - Mott the Hoople, etc.
- Per Lindstrand, balloonist.
- Andy Lloyd, former England Test Batsman & Captain of Warwickshire CCC
- Alexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton, Chairman of Macmillan Publisher Ltd.
- Wilfred Owen, WWI soldier and poet.
- Barbara Pym, author.
- Trevor Rees-Jones, bodyguard and survivor of the accident in which Diana, Princess of Wales died.
- Rev. William Archibald Spooner, originator of the Spoonerism.
- William Henry Griffith Thomas, clergyman and scholar.
- George Williams, Michigan State Senator.
- Ian Woosnam, golfer.
[edit] References
- ^ Oswestry Market. Shropshire Tourism.
- ^ Churches in Oswestry. Oswestry Borough Council.
- ^ History of Oswestry Orthopedic Hospital. NHS.
- ^ Litchfield Diocese. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Parish Church of St Oswald, King and Martyr. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Holy Trinity Oswestry. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Cornerstone Baptist web page. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Cabin Lane Church - History. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Carreg Llewd Church - History. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Christ Church - Picture and Notes. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ North Wales Quakers. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
- ^ Shropshire Routes to Roots. Introduction to Park Hall. Shropshire County Library Service.
[edit] External links
- Shropshire Tourism The official tourism website for Shropshire
- [2] Oswestry website
- Oswestry Borough Council
- Oswestry Town Council
- 107.1 The Severn, the town's local radio station
- Oswestry and Border Counties Advertiser, the town's weekly newspaper
- Whittington Castle
- Cambrian Railway Museum
Ceremonial county of Shropshire | |
|---|---|
| Unitary authorities | Telford and Wrekin |
| Boroughs or districts | Bridgnorth • North Shropshire • Oswestry • Shrewsbury and Atcham • South Shropshire |
| Cities and towns | Bishop's Castle • Bridgnorth • Broseley • Church Stretton • Cleobury Mortimer • Clun • Craven Arms • Ellesmere • Ludlow • Market Drayton • Much Wenlock • Newport • Oswestry • Shifnal • Shrewsbury • Telford (Dawley • Madeley • Oakengates • Wellington) • Wem • Whitchurch See also: List of civil parishes in Shropshire |
| Rivers | Clun • Onny • Perry • Rea • Rea Brook • Roden • Severn • Teme • Tern • Unk • Vyrnwy |
| Topics | History • Geography (Settlements • Divisions) • Economy • Education • Politics (Constituencies) • Sport • Transport (Railways) |
| Shropshire Hills AONB • Ironbridge Gorge | |
de:Oswestry fr:Oswestry nl:Oswestry no:Oswestry vo:Oswestry
