Oswestry
Coordinates: 52 ° 52 ′ N , 3 ° 3 ′ W
Oswestry ( walis. Croesoswallt ) is a market town in the county of Shropshire in the West Midlands in England . It lies between wooded hills in a picturesque setting and in 2011 had around 17,100 inhabitants. Their proximity to Wales can also be seen in the language, street names and place names. Nearby cities include Shrewsbury , Llangollen and Welshpool .
history
About one and a half kilometers from today's city is Old Oswestry , a hill fort from the early Iron Age . The settlement history of the place is probably around 800 BC. Have started. There are various unsatisfactory accounts of the early history of Oswestry. It is said to have been called Trer Cadeirau by the Britons and given to his son Osweil by Osweiling after Cunedda Wledig , Prince of North Wales, who lived in the 5th century . It is believed that the place got its name after King Oswald of Northumbria , who probably fought a battle against King Penda of Mercia near Oswestry in 642 and lost his life in the process.
The Domesday Book (1086) mentions that Rainald, Sheriff of Shropshire, had a castle built in Oswestry, Castelle Luvre ( Oswestry Castle ). This is the first documented evidence of the existence of a castle in the city. During the reign of Henry I , the barony of Oswestry fell to the Breton knight Alan Fitz Flaad († after 1121) and it remained in the possession of his family until the death of Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel , who died in 1580 without a male heir. Due to its border location, the city was often a battleground between the English and Welsh in the Middle Ages and was burned down twice.
The city's first surviving charter , issued in 1262 by John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel , granted its citizens autonomy. Richard II granted the town all the privileges Shrewsbury enjoyed in 1398 . Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel in 1407 , granted similar rights . In 1582 Oswestry was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth I and placed under the administration of two bailiffs and a city council consisting of 24 citizens. Jacob I confirmed this parish order in 1616. According to the constitution passed by Charles II in 1672 for Oswestry, the administration was now headed by a Mayor who was supported by twelve Aldermen (councilors) and 15 city councilors. This composition of the city government lasted until the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 .
In 1228 John FitzAlan, 6th Earl of Arundel was given the right to hold a market day in Oswestry every Monday (instead of the previous Thursday). The owner of the manor Oswestry held the market rights until 1819 when the Earl of Powis sold them to the city. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Oswestry held a weekly market day for the sale of woolen goods made in North Wales. The Shrewsbury draperies decided in the 17th century to sell the goods in their own town; and although the Privy Council ordered that trade be reserved exclusively for Oswestry, they agreed in 1621 not to purchase any more fabrics there. During the English Civil War , Oswestry was occupied by soldiers of King Charles I in 1642 , but was captured by parliamentary troops on June 22, 1644 after a brief siege.
Sightseeing and economy
Even today, Oswestry is known as a historic market town. The first school, Oswestry School , was founded in 1407. It is still a well-known boarding school for boys and girls today . The Visitor and Exhibition Center is located in the former school building from the 15th century. The former train station was closed and converted into what is now the Cambrian Visitor Center. In addition to the old school building of the former grammar school , the numerous historical buildings also include numerous castles and palaces or their remains, also in the surrounding area, as well as gardens, parks and museums. The church of St. Oswald, first mentioned in 1085 in the Domesday Book, has a tower dating from the late 12th or early 13th century and additions mainly from the 17th and 19th centuries.
Today Oswestry is considered a dynamic small town that lives mainly from tourism and trade . There is also a large livestock market and light industry.
Sports
The New Saints FC , the city's largest football club, holds a special place in British football. As the only English club, he belongs to the Football Association of Wales and has won several Welsh championship titles.
Personalities
- Henry Walford Davies (1869–1941), composer
- Ian Hunter (born 1939), rock singer
- Alexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton (born 1943), politician
- Wilfred Owen (1893–1918), poet
- Reginald Watson-Jones (1902-1972), surgeon
- Ian Woosnam (born 1958), golfer
