Old Oswestry () is a large early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

near

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 ...

in north west

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. The earthworks, which remain one of the best preserved hill forts in the UK, have been described as "The Stonehenge of the Iron Age Period". After the hill fort was abandoned, it was incorporated into

Wat's Dyke Wat's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Wat) is a linear earthwork running through the northern Welsh Marches from Basingwerk Abbey on the River Dee estuary, passing east of Oswestry and on to Maesbury in Shropshire, England. It runs generally parallel to ...

by the

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

ns during the

Early Medieval period The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They ...

. The hill fort was designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

in 1934. The site is now managed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The accessible hill fort gives panoramic views across North and Mid Wales,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and Shropshire.

History

The earliest occupation of the site began in the 8th century BC and continued up until the

Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Staneg ...

. Its inhabitants were either from the tribes of the

Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name has ...

Ordovices The Ordovīcēs (Common Brittonic: *''Ordowīcī'') were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their tribal lands were located in present-day North Wales and England, between the Silures to the south and the D ...

. The complexity of defences suggests there have been several phases of development. In the earliest period, a few round huts were sited on the undefended hillock. Subsequently these were enclosed by a double bank and ditch that enclosed . Entrances were placed at the east and west ends of the earthworks where the inner bank was pulled inwards to create large gateways. Later a third bank was added on all sides except the south east where the hill's steep incline made it unnecessary. The western entrance was re-modeled with unusual rectangular hollows separated by ridges dug out and defended by

outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponiers to shield bastions and fortification curtains ...

s. The eastern entrance was also strengthened with two further external circuits of banks and ditches. Despite the size of its fortifications, there is no evidence that the Roman Legions attacked Old Oswestry during their conquest of the region in the 50 CEs. In the

, it became associated as the birthplace of the ancient Brythonic queen "Ganhumara";

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

stationed at nearby Park Hall camp used the earthworks for training purposes. Many large pits, trenches and craters from explosives irreparably damaged the interior site during these military activities. The war poet

Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced by ...

, who was born in Oswestry, completed his trench warfare training at the hill fort when he was stationed at Park Hall.

Preservation

In 1939, Yorkshire geologist and amateur archaeologist William J Varley conducted the most extensive examination of the site. His work, which was not published until the 1990s, remains the most authoritative work on the site. His excavations showed that the complex defensive ramparts that surround the hill fort were not built at the same time and that there were four distinct phases in their development. The hill fort is now managed by

. Access is free. Since 2015, housing developers have been trying to get planning permission for new homes near the slopes of the ancient monument. However, an ongoing campaign (backed by local residents and archaeologists) has stalled these proposals.

References

External links

Ancient Britain – Old Oswestry

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Old Oswestry and surrounding area today

History and research into Old Oswestry: English Heritage

Reconstruction drawing of what the hillfort might have looked like: Historic England
* {{oscoor gbx, SJ295311 Hill forts in Shropshire English Heritage sites in Shropshire Oswestry