Maesbrook is a village in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England.

Maesbury Maesbury is a small scattered community in Shropshire, England, south of the town of Oswestry, falling within the Oswestry Rural parish. The name is derived from ''maes'', meaning ''field'' or ''plain'' in Brythonic Welsh, and ''burh'', me ...

and Maesbury Marsh are about a mile north of Maesbrook.

Pant Pant may refer to: Clothing * Pants or trousers, an article of outer clothing worn on the lower half of the body * Underpants, an item of underwear Places * Pant, Denbighshire, Wales; a township of Llysfaen *Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales *Pan ...

is also nearby, just north of Llanymynech. It lies between the villages of

Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ba ...

and

Knockin Knockin ( cy, Cnwcin) is a village and civil parish in north-west Shropshire, England. It is located on the B4396 road, around south-east of the town of Oswestry, and from the county town of Shrewsbury. History The former name of Knockin w ...

, south of the town of

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

. The

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa *A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

is nearby, as is the border with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

History

Railway

Maesbrook railway station was on the defunct

Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales, with a branch to Criggion. It was promoted by Holman Fred Stephens, better known as Colonel Stephens, proprietor of several ul ...

. A

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

running from

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It opened in 1911, becoming one of the

Colonel Stephens Railways Colonel Holman Fred Stephens (31 October 1868 – 23 October 1931) was a British light railway civil engineer and manager. He was engaged in engineering and building, and later managing, 16 light railways in England and Wales. Biography Stephen ...

. In 1933 passenger services were suspended. The railway was taken over by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when a top-secret armaments storage centre was built at

Kinnerley Kinnerley ( Welsh: ''Chen-ar-dinlle'') is a small village in Shropshire, England. It lies between the neighbouring villages of Dovaston and Pentre and the nearest town is Oswestry. To the north is the village of Knockin. History A mile to th ...

. The line remained in military ownership until it was closed in 1960
Notes on wartime role

Osbaston House killings

In August 2008 the village came to national prominence after multi-millionaire businessman Christopher Foster shot dead his family before killing himself in a fire at their £1.2 million home. A two-day inquest held in April 2009 heard that Foster had given no indication of what he was going to do. His 15-year-old daughter Kirstie had chatted with friends via

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

until around midnight before she said her father had told her to go to bed. At some point, Foster used his legally-owned rifle to kill his wife, Jill, and daughter. CCTV footage captured him outside shooting the family's horses and dogs, as well as the tyres on his vehicles; he blocked the entrance to his property with a horse transporter. Foster then set alight the house, garage and stables with

heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers use for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often a ...

. He returned to his wife's body in an apparent act of

self-immolation The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself o ...

. Earlier that evening, the family had attended a friend's barbecue party. Guests told police that there was nothing suspicious in Foster's manner or behaviour to suggest what he planned. An expert witness believed Foster killed his family because his businesses were in severe financial trouble and he wanted to "protect" them from poverty.

References

External links

Villages in Shropshire {{Shropshire-geo-stub