Remains of Oswestry Castle

Summary

The ruined remains of a C13 masonry castle atop a late-C11 motte, with late-C19 landscaping incorporating some medieval masonry

History

Although evidence of Roman and Saxon settlement within Oswestry is sparse, the existence of a large and remarkably well-preserved Iron Age hill fort to the north of the town centre points to a long history of settlement in the area. A motte and bailey castle was constructed shortly after the Norman conquest (1066), and the town appears to have developed in its present location from the C12 onwards, initially to the south of the castle mound. The town was defended by walls and a ditch, although its defensive roll ceased to be important by the late medieval period; the tight network of streets in the town centre represents the development of the land within the bailey to the south and west of the castle mound during the C14-C16. During this period the town flourished as a market for Welsh wool and cloth. The late-medieval and early modern town was largely timber-framed, although today fairly few examples survive from the C15 to C17, often hidden behind later brick facades.

The town developed a newfound importance during the later C18 as a coaching station on the London to Holyhead road. Many buildings in the town centre are of the late C18 and early C19, typically built in red brick and often stuccoed. A rapid expansion in housing followed the establishment of a Cambrian Railway works site to the east of the town centre in 1866. The town’s continued prominence as a regional centre by the late C19 is reflected in the grand, Free Renaissance-style Guildhall of 1893, among other contemporary municipal and commercial buildings. The C20 brought piecemeal rebuilding of the town centre and the growth of suburbs, particularly to the east of the railway. Oswestry’s train station closed to passengers in 1966.

The first motte and bailey castle at Oswestry was raised during the late C11 by Rainald, Sheriff of Shropshire, utilising a natural, oval-shaped glacial mound. The original timber castle was replaced probably during the C13 by a stone keep. The fortification was never attacked during the medieval period, but was used as a base for major campaigns against the Welsh. The castle was the scene of a parliament held by Richard II in 1398.

The castle was garrisoned by Royalist troops during the Civil War, but was slighted by Parliamentary forces in 1644 and had been largely demolished by 1650. Today, all that remains of the C13 keep are two groups of tumbled masonry and a bastion which was largely rebuilt in the late C19. In 1850 the castle mound was acquired by local gentlemen who landscaped it as a pleasure garden. It was gifted to the Town Corporation in 1885. Further landscaping was carried out to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. It appears to have been at this time that revetment walls at the base of the mound, which incorporate medieval masonry, were constructed. The walls also incorporate two gate piers removed from one of the former town gates known as the Beatrice Gate.

Details

The ruined remains of a C13 masonry castle atop a late-C11 motte, with late-C19 landscaping incorporating some medieval masonry.

MATERIALS: the collapsed masonry on top of the motte and the reconstructed bastion are of uncoursed limestone and conglomerate rubble. The late C19 revetment wall is of coursed sandstone.

DESCRIPTION: this listed asset comprises three groups of collapsed medieval masonry, the largest of which is approximately 6ft (1.8m) high. The ruins sit atop a partly manmade mound (the motte), which was raised in the late C11. The base of the mound is surrounded by a revetment wall of grey sandstone, which is taller to the south and east.

The south-facing section of the revetment wall incorporates two grey sandstone piers with carved capitals and round-arched niches to their south face, taken from a demolished town gate. These piers flank a gate access via a flight of stone steps with a crenelated wall. The piers carry a pair of C21 metal plaques recording a brief history of the castle and its restoration by English Heritage and Oswestry Town Council. The crenelated wall to the flight of steps carries two late-C19 metal plaques recording the castle’s opening to the public on 24 June 1890.

The revetment wall, parts of the pedestrian walkway round the mound, and the top of the mound itself, have spearhead iron railings of the late C20. Part of the footpath round the mound also has an iron handrail probably of the late C19. The gate between the stone piers is of a matching design to the late-C20 railings

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

255543

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
OS map 25”, Shropshire XII.14 (1873 edn).
OS map 25”, Shropshire XII.14 (1924 edn).
Newman, J, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Shropshire (2006), pp.454 and 460.

End of official list entry

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