Oswestry 5.64

Oswestry is a large market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. It is one of the UK's oldest border settlements.The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Oswestry until that was abolished under local government reorganisation with effect from 1 April 2009. Oswestry is the third-largest town in Shropshire, following Telford and Shrewsbury. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the civil parish as 17,105 (up almost 10% from 15,613 in 2001) and the urban area as 16,660. The town is five miles (8 km) from the Welsh border, and has a mixed Welsh and English heritage. It is the home of the Shropshire libraries' Welsh Collection.Oswestry is the largest settlement within the Oswestry Uplands, a designated natural area and national character area.HistoryIt has also been known as, or recorded in historical documents as: Album Monasterium; Blancminster; Blankmouster; Blancmustier; Croes Oswallt; Oswaldestre; Meresberie.PrehistoryOswestry's story began with the 3000-year-old settlement of Old Oswestry, one of the most spectacular and best preserved Iron Age hill forts in Britain, with evidence of construction and occupation between 800 BC and AD 43.