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Oswestry

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"OSWESTRY, a parish, market town, and municipal borough in the Upper division of Oswestry hundred, county Salop, 18 miles N.W. of Shrewsbury, and 179 miles from London. It is a station on the Shrewsbury and Chester section of the Great Western railway, and on the Cambrian, Newtown, and Welsh Coast railway. It is one of the chief towns on the borders of Wales, and is situated on high ground on the main road from London to Holyhead.  ... More"[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]

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Gazetteers

Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015

"OSWESTRY, a parish, market town, and municipal borough in the Upper division of Oswestry hundred, county Salop, 18 miles N.W. of Shrewsbury, and 179 miles from London. It is a station on the Shrewsbury and Chester section of the Great Western railway, and on the Cambrian, Newtown, and Welsh Coast railway. It is one of the chief towns on the borders of Wales, and is situated on high ground on the main road from London to Holyhead. The surrounding scenery comprises the vale of Shropshire, with the Wrekin, and the Staffordshire hills on one side; and the views towards the counties of Montgomery and Denbigh on the other. The parish, which consists of nearly 16,000 acres, is divided into 16 townships, including the liberties of the town. The town is of great antiquity, and was originally named by the Britons Croes Oswallt, after St. Oswald, King of Northumberland, who lost his life here in a battle, fighting against the heathen king, Penda of Mercia, in 642. The Saxons called it Masefield, or Maes Oswallt, signifying "Oswald's field," and subsequently Oswaldstre, or "Oswald's town." Being situated between Offa's and Watt's dykes, and a border town, it was the scene of many severe conflicts, as well between the Saxons and Britons as the Welsh and Normans. Walter Fitzalan, the founder of the Stewart dynasty, who built a castle here in the reign of King Stephen, also walled in the town and fortified it. Henry II. having been defeated by the Welsh at Berwyn Hill in 1164 made Oswestry his headquarters. In the reigns of King John and Henry III. Oswestry was twice burnt, in the latter reign by the Welsh under Llewellyn. During the civil wars of Charles I. it was taken by the parliamentarian army and dismantled. William Earl of Arundel granted the first charter to the town in the reign of Henry II., but Richard II. gave the first royal charter to Oswestry, which King Charles II. subsequently confirmed. The town has very much improved during the last fifty years. The streets are for the most part spacious, well paved, and lighted with gas, and the houses are generally well built. The sum of £16,000 has lately been expended in supplying it with water, and a complete system of drainage has also been carried out at a considerable cost, while some years ago a large commodious cattle and sheep market was added to the town. Many of the ancient houses built of wood still exist in parts of the town. It is divided into two wards, and governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors, with the style of "mayor, aldermen, common councilmen, and burgesses of Oswestry."-The population in 1851 was 4,817 with 995 inhabited houses, which in 1861 had increased to 5,414 with 1,125 inhabited houses. The Oswestry Poor-law Union contains 14 parishes and townships, and the workhouse is situated about a mile from the town. The public buildings are the townhall, situated near the site of the castle, and forming one side of the principal square called Bailey-head: it contains a statue of King Oswald in stone. The corn market is roofed in with glass, and has a clock tower. There are besides, the borough gaol, a theatre, and the savings-bank. Two large buildings have lately been erected-one at the S. end of the town, called the Victoria Rooms, for public meetings, assemblies, &c.; and the other at the N. end, containing a reading-room and a hall for lectures. The ruins of the ancient castle are but scanty; they, however, are sufficient to indicate its primitive strength. Flower walks have been planted on the site, a lofty artificial mount, from which good views of the surrounding scenery may be obtained. The town gates were taken down about 1780. There is a spring of water which bears the name of Oswald's well. Quarter sessions, petty sessions, and a county court are held monthly at Oswestry, which is a polling-place for the northern division of the county. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the malting trade, which is very flourishing. Brickmaking is also carried on to some extent. The linen and woollen manufacture has very much declined of late. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £477. The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, was originally part of an old monastery. It is a commodious structure with a square tower and eight bells. In it are some curious tablets and monumental inscriptions. In addition to the parish church there are the district churches of Trinity and Trefonen-the former a perpetual curacy, value £150, in the patronage of the vicar; the latter a perpetual curacy, value £175. There is also Morton Chapel, on the immediate boundary of the parish, to which the townships of Morton and Crickheath, and a part of the township of Sweene, have been assigned as a district, value £600, in the patronage of the bishop. Aston chapel is a private one belonging to Mrs Lloyd, of Aston Hall, and has no district assigned to it; the townships of Pentregaer and Cynynion are assigned to the church at Rhydycroesau. There are also places of worship for Baptists, Calvinistic and Primitive Methodists, Independents, Welsh Independents, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school was founded and endowed by David Holbeck in the reign of Henry IV. There are also National and infant schools, built in the Elizabethan style, and a dispensary. Eure's almshouses are among the charities. The Earl of Powis is lord of the manor. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday, the former for corn, when much business is done, and the latter for cheese, poultry, and provisions. Fairs for the sale of cattle are held on the first Wednesday in every month."[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015]

Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2015

  • "ASTON, a township in the parish of Oswestry, and hundred of the same name, in the county of Salop, 3 miles from Oswestry. It lies to the west of the Llanymynech branch canal, not far from the borders of Wales. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of St. Asaph, and in the patronage of Mrs. Lloyd. The principal residence is Aston Park."
  • " CAENYNION, a township in the parish and hundred of Oswestry, in the county of Salop."
  • " CRICKHEATH, a township in the parish of Oswestry, in the county of Salop, 3½ miles S. of Oswestry."
  • " HISLAND, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 2 miles S.E. of Oswestry."
  • " LLANFORDA, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, in the vicinity of the town of Oswestry, and 17 miles N.W. of Shrewsbury, It is situated near Offa's Dyke and the Shrewsbury and Cheshire railway. Lord Avonmore has a seat here."
  • " MAESBURY, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 2 miles S.E. of the town of Oswestry. The Ellesmere canal passes through the township."
  • " MIDDLETON, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 1 mile E. of Oswestry."
  • " PENTREGAER, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 2 miles from Oswestry."
  • " RHYDYCROESAU, an ecclesiastical district in the parish and hundred of Oswestry, county Salop, 3 miles from Oswestry, and 18 N.W. of Shrewsbury. It is situated in the neutral ground between Offa's and Wat's Dykes, on the borders of Denbigh and Salop. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £100, in the patronage of the bishop."
  • " SWEENEY, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 2 miles S. of Oswestry."
  • " TREFERCLAWDD, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 2 miles S.W. of Oswestry."
  • " TREFLACH, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 3 miles S.W. of Oswestry."
  • " TREFONEN, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 3 miles S.W. of Oswestry, its post town. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £85."
  • " WESTON COTTON, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 1 mile S. of Oswestry."
  • " WOOTTON, a township in the parish of Oswestry, county Salop, 4 miles S.E. of Oswestry, near the Montgomery canal."
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Maps

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