Like Ludlow, Oswestry is in the county of Shropshire, again close to the Welsh border and is home to 50% more people than Ludlow with its population of 15,000. The area has been inhabited since at least 550 BCE and Old Oswestry is the site of an Iron Age fort.An Anglo-Saxon king, Oswald, was alleged to have been killed and dismembered at this location and, as legend has it, one of his arms was carried to an ash tree by an eagle. Miracles were subsequently attributed to the tree and thus it is believed that the name derived from "Oswald's Tree". A likely story.
Since 1190 the town has held a market each Wednesday and, with an influx of Welsh farmers every week, the some town folk are bilingual. The town is also famous for its high number of public houses per head of population - about twice the national average. There are around 30 drinking houses in the town today, one for every five hundred men women and children. Check out some of these hostelries here.
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