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Oswestry
was of Norman foundation. It developed as one in a strong chain of new
fortresses built along the Welsh Marches. Gradually a town grew up around
the military settlement
Mediaeval
Oswestry was both Welsh and English, but by Tudor times, and up to the
Civil War, Oswestry
was effectively a Welsh borough, even though it lay on the English side
of the border. It was central to the Welsh wool trade and the home of
Welsh poets and bards.it was home to Welsh poets and bards. Street names
were Welsh and many residem=nts had bothe English and Welsh ancestry.
Oswestry
suffered great hardship at the beginning of the 17th century when Shrewsbury
took over the wool trade, and the Royalist garrison was defeated by the
Parliamentarians. This was folowed by the destruction of the parish church
and Oswestry Castle, which were both destroyed in the 1640s.
Oswestry
regained a certain stability at the Restoration, and in 1673 received
a charter from the new King, Charles II, enabling the Corporation to elect
a Mayor each year. In the following century, the fine buildings of Church
Street and Brook Street, and the elegance of the Broad Walk, show the
town rediscovered some of its former prosperity as a local centre for
agriculture and commerce, although it was a much quieter place than before.
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