Name of Place: Oswestry; County: Salop; Number of Miles from: Ellesmere – 9. Chirk – 5, Shrewsbury – 17; Dist. Lond. – 171; Population – 8581.
Oswestry is situated upon the main road from London to Holyhead. The town stands upon higher ground than any in Shropshire, and the country around is delightfully varied with hills, vales, wood and water, and exhibits some very rich and picturesque scenery. Oswestry is a town of great antiquity, and its present appellation, was derived from the name of St. Oswald, King of Northumberland, who was defeated and slain here, by Penda, King of Mercia. Subsequently, when the great Offa constructed the barrier, still known by his name, Oswestry stood between it and Watt’s-dyke, which ran parallel to the former at the distance of two miles. It was thus rendered a border town, and hence was frequently the scene of contest, first between the Saxons and the Britons, and afterwards between the latter and the Normans. In 1212, King John burnt both the town and castle, which were then in the possession of the Fitzalans, and plundered a part of Wales on account of the refusal of Llewellin to join his standard, in opposition to Louis, the dauphin of France, who had been invited to England by the rebellious barons. Oswestry was likewise destroyed by the Welsh prince, called Llewellin the Great, 1233. During this period it was encircled by a strong wall, which had four gates, fronting the four cardinal points. Some traces of the wall still remain, but the gates were entirely demolished about the year 1769. Of the castle, which stood on a high artificial mound, at the west side of the town, only a few fragments now exist; these, however, are sufficient to indicate its former prodigious strength and consequent importance as a place of defence. The town is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. The petty sessions for the hundred are held here, besides the courts connected with the borough. The church is a very ancient and spacious building, with a plain, well-proportioned tower at one end. Oswestry has been much improved within the last few years, in consequence of an act obtained in 1810, for widening, paving, and lighting the streets, and by the spirit of building which has resulted from that measure. The principal trade of the town is malting, which is very extensive; there is also a respectable hat manufactory; and there are an abundance of coals in the vicinity of the town. Upon the little river Mordu is a manufactory of flannel. The neighbourhood is to be remarked for its great respectability; and to the number of genteel and opulent families that it contains may, in a great measure, be attributed the prosperity of the town of Oswestry.
Market, Wednesday. – Fairs, March 16, for horned cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, home-made linen doth, &c.; great fair, May 12, ditto and pedlary, particularly oxen; Wednesday before June 24, ditto; August 15, ditto; Wednesday before Michaelmas-day, ditto; and December 10, ditto and firkin-butter. –Principal Inns, Commercial Hotel, Cross Keys, and Wynnstay Arms.
Source: England and Wales Delineated by Thomas Dugdale assisted by William Burnett; published by Tallis & Co., Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey, 1835.
