Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Oswestry

Oswestry.-- mun. bor., market town, and par., Shropshire, 18 miles NW. of Shrewsbury and 172 miles from London by rail - par., 16,234 ac., pop. 11,923; bor., 1888 ac., pop. 7847; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. One of the chief towns on the Welsh border, Oswestry is a place of ancient British origin. At an early period Oswestry and its neighbourhood formed the battleground of fierce border feuds. In 1212 it was burnt by King John, and 20 years later by Llewellyn. Upon an eminence in the immediate vicinity of the town are a few fragments of a Norman castle. The surrounding country shows varied, picturesque, and beautiful scenery. Trade in Oswestry is mainly connected with malting and the exportation of agricultural produce.


(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "municipal borough, market town, and parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Oswestry AP/CP       Oswestry CP/PA       Oswestry Borough       Shropshire AncC
Place: Oswestry

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