Border country is always a fabulous place for stories and the countryside around Oswestry is filled with tales. Where history stops and legends begin, I will let you decide…
St Oswald and his Well
King Oswald, was killed in battle against King Penda at the Battle of Maserfield in 642 CE. According to legend a great bird carried off his arm and dropped it at this site from whence a spring arose …. St Oswald’s Well, Oswestry. A little way from the town centre the spring still bubbles today these days watched over by a statue of the great bird.
Queen Guinevere & Her Hillfort
Yes, that one… the wife of Arthur was an Oswestry Resident! Welsh legends tell us that she was the daughter of a giant who lived at Old Oswestry Hillfort! A stunning place to walk and more myths than you can shake a stick at …. Including that of Gog Magog an evil giant! Why not take part in our free tourism ambassador scheme to learn more and acquire shiny badges!
Jack Mytton & Oswestry Racecourse
Mad, bad & dangerous to know – Regency bad boy Jack Mytton had a pet bear, rode his horse into a hotel and left another in his tutor’s bedroom. Left a huge fortune he spent it all and died a debtor, but he really knew how to live it large! His greatest passion was for horses and was often to be found at Oswestry racecourse.
Humphrey Kynaston & Nesscliffe Rock
From Mad Jack to “Wild” Humphrey! Another outstanding horseman and colourful local figure. Kynaston was outlawed for murder and moved to the caves in Nesscliffe where he became a highwayman… having taken a nod from Robin Hood he shared his ill-gotten gains with the local population who protected him from the law and turned him into a romantic hero. He was eventually pardoned for aiding the King – but weather it was Henry VII or VIII is shrouded in the mist of time.
Fulk FitzWarin & Whittington Castle
The last in our trio of folk heroes is Fulk FitzWarin, a certain contender for some of the flourishes in the myths and legends of Robin Hood – a lord of the manor forced to live as an outlaw! To think all the troubles were begun over a childhood game of chess with the young prince John… that Fulk forgot to lose! Fulk was supposed to inherit Whittington Castle, but politics kept getting in the way. He was one of the Barons who drew up Magna Carta…Whittington was finally restored to him by Henry III who also let him fortify it and hold markets there whilst the young King was the regent of William Marshal but holding it was going to prove tricky.
These and many more myths, legends and histories are featured in the Oswestry Tourism Ambassador Scheme. Find out more by clicking the link! Exploring all of these local places is free to do and a great way to spend time with family & Friends this Summer. For more to do locally please follow us on social media, explore our website, and come and see us at the Tourist Information Centre in our new home in Oswestry Indoor Market.
