Oswestry
Oswestry is a charming market town based in the English county of Shropshire in the West Midlands. It is the centre of administration for the Borough of Oswestry and stands close to the border with Wales. Its location has given it a rich mix of Welsh and English heritage over the years.
Oswestry has an interesting history that stretches back to ancient times. The old part of the town, for example, contains the site of a hill fort that dates back to Iron Age times. In the 7th century it is thought that the rival kings of the Anglo Saxons Oswald and Penda fought the Battle of Maserfield in the Oswestry area. King Oswald was reputed to have been killed in the battle and to have been dismembered by his opponents. Legend has it that his limbs were hung on a tree near the battle site by Penda - this tree became known as Oswald’s Tree. It is thought that this may be where Oswestry got its original name.
In the times of the Normans Oswestry was ruled by the Barons Rainald and Alan Fitzlaad who were also responsible for protecting the border with Wales in the immediate area. Rainald is held to have been the person responsible for actually building the castle in the town as recorded in the Domesday Book. Over time the town was given further protection with the building of a wall around it. During the Middle Ages Oswestry chopped and changed between being Welsh and English as was the case with so many of the Shropshire border or ‘frontier’ towns.
In the 12th century Oswestry was also given a charter to hold a weekly market and in the 15th century the town established its first school. The building that used to house the school is now a Heritage Centre and the site of the local Tourist Office. The castle and the town’s walls were virtually destroyed during skirmishes in the Civil War in the 1600s. The town boomed in Victorian times as can be seen from the many buildings in the centre which date back to this period.
Visitors to Oswestry may well enjoy a visit to the Iron Age Fort, the Cambrian Railway Museum and Whittington Castle which lies close to the town. The parish church here, St Oswald’s, has a tower that dates back to the 11th century. Offa’s Dyke footpath also runs close to Oswestry.
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