28/03/2015 – Looking out over the ramparts of Old Oswestry
Images
Ditches and ramparts immediately north of the entrance
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Water filled mystery pit
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
The sprawling modern metropolis that is Oswestry, and the entrance to Old Oswestry in the foreground.
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Llwyn Coppice in the background
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Damage to the higher bank revealing its makeup.
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Two crazy staring sheep on a rampart
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Old Oswestry hill fort and sign declaring it so.
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
As seen from a 151 meter high hill just to the north.
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
As seen from just above Llwyn Coppice playground
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
As seen from Llwyn Coppice
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
The northernmost (and least overgrown/wet) of the pits within the western rampart.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The southern rampart, with the Breiddin Hills dark on the far left skyline.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The northwestern ramparts, looking out towards the north Shropshire plain. Wat’s Dyke recommences its route northwards, marked by the hedge with the trees in it running from the centre of the picture towards the top left.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The northwestern rampart. Looking west. Offa’s Dyke follows the wooded ridge on the skyline.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
Inner ramparts, approaching the northwestern corner of the fort.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
General overview of the western defences, from the fort interior. Oswestry can be seen beyond.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
Looking westwards down the sloping path to the entrance.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The outer western ramparts, looking north from the entrance track.
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The southern rampart, seen from the road. The picture shows the low remains of Wat’s Dyke running from the bottom right corner to end where it meets the rampart (behind the telegraph pole).
Image credit: A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
The phases of construction, from info board.
Image credit: English Heritage/A. Brookes (13.5.2011)
ariel view of the fort (from the info board)
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
the entrance
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
a bit left of centre are the wierd square ditch within ditches
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Old Oswestry 7 April 2007
Image credit: Barry & Sean
B/W photo from June 1986, note how ‘trimmed’ Old Oswestry was then.... It was also rather more silent then it is now constructed.....The new A5 road which bypassed Oswestry, also added a lot traffic sounds to this site by bringing the A5 nearer... shame.
Image credit: Nick Dooley
A shot of one of the useful signboards, with a diagram of how the experts anticipate Old Oswestry would have looked in its hey-day
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt 2004
The Western Entrance
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt 2004
The Western Entrance, ramparts to the Southern Side. I would not have wanted the task of storming this stronghold.
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt 2004
A view of a daunting rampart
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt 2004
Some of the phenomenal engineering at Old Oswestry
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt 2004
Small and thriving ponds exist in some of the baffling pits which are unique to Old Oswestry
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt
One of the massive and unsual pits – without a pond
Image credit: Rebecca van der Putt
Site information board
Image credit: English Heritage
Articles
Volunteers have been helping restore an Iron Age hillfort, which was recently damaged by vandals.
An Iron Age hillfort has been targeted by vandals who have dug firepits, ridden mountain bikes over it and ripped gates off their hinges.
Historian and television presenter, Professor Michael Wood, has expressed serious concern over plans to build houses within the historic landscape of Old Oswestry hillfort.
....................................
In a letter of objection he wrote: “I have followed with concern the proposed developments. The Iron Age hillfort of Old Oswestry is generally agreed to be the finest site of its kind in the Welsh Borders. Any development that threatens its setting, as this self-evidently does, in my view, therefore, should be refused.”
The popular historian said Oswestry’s northern gateway around the hillfort was an extraordinarily interesting – and rare – example of a medieval sacred landscape, which still awaited detailed research and survey. This, he said was is in addition to the area’s multi-phase heritage interest ranging from pre-Iron Age to WW1 military archaeology.
TV archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth has claimed ancient hillforts should be “treasured” – and insisted surrounding fields should also be protected from development.
The Time Team archaeologist said areas surrounding the likes of Oswestry’s Iron Age hillfort – which he described as “spectacular” – were just as important as the hills due to their historical and religious significance.
He made the comments while attending a seminar event at Oswestry Memorial Hall, which was held by campaigners fighting plans to build 117 homes near the town’s hillfort.
More than 100 people attended to hear a number of expert speakers from across Europe discuss the the context of the hillfort, its historical significance and some of the archaeological finds made at the site.
The homes off Whittington Road have been included in Shropshire Council’s Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) plan, which will see more than 20,000 homes built across the county by 2026. Two further proposals to build homes near the hillfort were last week omitted from the planning blueprint, which had initially proposed about 200 homes would be built in the area.
Mr Ainsworth, a regular on the Channel 4 programme, said: “This is a spectacular hillfort. One of the impressive things about it is there are some unusual features which we don’t quite understand, which makes it unique and really quite unusual.”
“It’s important that we treasure the past. The zones around the hillfort, the penumbra, are just as important as the hill. Even in prehistory these areas had meaning for religion and history.”
Mr Ainsworth, who lives in Chester, has been studying Iron Age hillforts for 40 years and said he had long had an interest in the hillfort in Oswestry. “I’ve got a professional and personal interest in any development which potentially affects a major Iron Age centre,” he said.
Among the speakers at Saturday’sevent was Dr George Nash, professor of archaeology and anthropology at IPT in Portugal. He said: “Judging by the audience that turned out, clearly there’s an opposition against this ridiculous planning proposal. We’ve got to keep our green and pleasant land free of development for future generations.”
Maggie Rowlands, one of the organisers of the seminar, said: “We had a fantastic turnout. ”
Town councillors are due to meet tomorrow to form a response to the proposals.
shropshirestar.com/news/2014/02/24/national-experts-talk-about-oswestry-hillforts-future/
Update:
Protesters in Shropshire say housing for ‘affluent commuters and rich retirees’ will ruin a site of national importance and set back archaeological research.
Old Oswestry is one of Europe’s best preserved iron age hill forts, a site that has existed for more than 3,000 years and can be seen for miles around.
The war poet Wilfred Owen completed his army training on the grassy mounds of Old Oswestry, which is also said to be the birthplace of King Arthur’s wife, Guinevere. It is likely that the Shropshire lad himself, AE Housman, would have spent time admiring the views from the fort’s majestic summit on the Shropshire-Wales border.
Now, in what critics say is a result of the government’s new planning policy, proposals have been drawn up to build almost 200 luxury homes next to the ancient site, angering local residents and heritage groups. Some 6,000 people have signed a petition opposing the development, part of the county council’s plan to build 2,600 homes by 2026 to comply with government targets.
One of 25 hill forts in Shropshire, Old Oswestry has a series of perimeter ditches, formed between ramparts, that were designed to slow down attackers. An archaeological survey in 2010 found man-made structures in fields to the north-east of the fort. Two years ago the discovery of an iron age road, thought to connect The Wrekin, near Telford, with fields near the site, indicated that there was likely to be important evidence of past cultures buried under the soil.
“If houses go up, access to important archaeology and further understanding of iron age culture will be lost indefinitely under bricks and concrete,” said Neil Phillips of Hands Off Old Oswestry Hillfort (Hoooh). “The sprawling infrastructure of the housing masterplan, with houses, roads, gardens, link paths and car parking, will severely erode a large part of the green farmstead setting which is an integral part of Old Oswestry’s appeal.”
English Heritage, which describes Old Oswestry as “a site of great national importance, one that helps to define our national story and identity”, has joined Oswestry town council in opposing the scheme, which locals say will do little to ease housing problems. They claim that the 188 homes planned for up to three sites around the fort will be expensive, low-risk developments “for affluent commuters, rich retirees, country retreat investors and holiday cottage landlords”. The development will be studied closely by the likes of the National Trust, which has warned that the government’s new “pro-development” planning framework will result in a glut of upmarket homes being built on greenfield sites because these offer the best returns for construction firms.
Campaigners have questioned the basis for the council’s new homes target. “Shropshire council has acknowledged that the 2,600 figure is both arbitrary and inexact,” said John Waine from Hoooh. “This is the sand on which they seem willing to allocate new homes, setting a precedent for future build around this and other Shropshire heritage sites.”
Local people have pressed their MP, environment secretary Owen Paterson, to raise their concerns. A spokeswoman for Paterson said: “He never becomes involved in planning decisions, which are entirely the responsibility of Shropshire council. However, he always passes on the concerns of any constituents who contact him to the leader of Shropshire council.”
A council spokesman said it was awaiting a response from local groups before commenting further: “We understand that the town council is to meet with representatives of English Heritage in early December and we expect a formal view from them shortly afterwards
theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/24/old-oswestry-hill-fort-housing-threat
Many of you have visited this this site and I thought you should see this breaking news. The site is unique, it is large, impressive, and has features which are not found on any other Iron Age site anywhere. It is not too strong to say that it is among the UK’s top 5 Iron Age sites and is of international importance. Despite being very close to the town and visible from the A5, by a happy accident of topography, it has a strong sense of isolation.
BUT, it is under threat from housing development. The man who owns the land which skirts the fort to its south east, has proposed it for development and there is imminent danger that the site will be included in the local SAMDev document.
If you want to know more, then you might like to visit: oswestry21.com/?p=8959 and follow the internal links
If you feel strongly enough about it you might like to sign the petition at: change.org/petitions/shropshire-council-withdraw-proposals-to-build-houses-alongside-old-oswestry-iron-age-hillfort?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition
28/03/2015 – Rain started to clear as we arrived and there was a lovely rainbow over the ramparts to greet us as we walked through the west entrance and up to the top of the fort. Old Oswestry is one big place. If ramparts are your thing this is the place for you. Nice circuit of the top (clockwise), stopping occasionally to shake my head at the sheer number and size of the ramparts. It’s a must see site but I’ve got to admit not one of my favourites.
What does a skint Tma’er want most for his birthday ? Yep ! A full tank of petrol, nice one dad.
In between school runs I decide to take myself over to the Maiden castle of the north, the second most impressive hill fort i’ve ever seen. Sadly it rained all the way here, but, no matter, I have waterproofing, funny though, it stopped raining as I got them on, it does that quite often. Dressed as an orange fluorescent Jedi Knight I enter the fort by it’s main western entrance and make my way via a myriad of paths to the modern stairway at it’s north western corner, we had a picnic here one summer many years ago, Eric was still in nappies, I always meant to come back but it’s taken almost ten years, bad postie.
Incorrectly I start a circuit of the fort in an anticlockwise manner, mostly because I intend to get up Llwyn Coppice, the hill next door, to get a different view of the fort and I need to see what access is like.
Passing the entrance, New Oswestry stands not far away, compared to the fort it is a sprawling metropolis. Low mist clings to even the lowest hills and I cant make out any distant features at all. Half way round I come to a herd of sheep, one in particular keeps eyeballing me, it is the last to turn tail and scarper further up the ditch, but they don’t go far and I’m chasing them all the way round from the lesser eastern entrance and all the way back to the stairs, which they use with ease, Oi they’re people stairs, I use a Jedi mind trick that only works on the feeble minded and they stick to the bottom of the ditch. After an inspection of the mystery ditches I conclude they must be frog farms and leave the fort walls.
Time for a climb of the nearest and closest hills, to the north is a 151 meter high hill that looks a good vantage point to eye up the western fortifications. It is. An harangued Buzzard flew past being mobbed by Crows, poor thing. Next after a walk down the road containing a waving good morning from a fat fellow with two Labradors. Soon I’m up to the top of llwyn coppice hill, a good lookout point if you can get a view through the trees. And a nice place in itself, autumnal colours abound, and birds streak by, but, the local youth have been here and even the trees have been Graffitied and one poor tree has had a dozen long nails hammered in to a six inch space. God damn no brains, they should all just drop down dead.
Time to go see some stones.
Friday the 13th (13.5.2011) brings us to Oswestry for a couple of days, in our ongoing Offa’s Dyke Path walk. Old Oswestry is an easy stroll from the town, it’s only a mile to the northeast.
On our way, we spend a little time in the town’s suburbs, seeking out a rather fine section of Wat’s Dyke that runs through a housing development. Wat’s Dyke is roughly contemporary with the much better known Offa’s version a few miles west of here. Constructed between the 5th and 8th centuries AD (CE), it’s too late for TMA, but is still worth a look, especially as its course runs both north and south from the ramparts of the hillfort. The section of dyke running through the suburbs here remains as a standing earthwork of over a metre in height.
We follow this northwards, until it disappears under a Victorian factory building (being refurbished for re-use, nice to see) and then its course crosses the old railway line that used to run from the main line at Gobowen into Oswestry itself. It runs under the roads and streets for a while, but eventually we come to a recreation ground to the north of the town, where a quick uphill detour offers views of the hillfort itself. From here the low bank of the dyke continues northwards, until it comes to a halt at the foot of the massive earthworks of the fort.
And what earthworks they are. Michael Watson described it as “big, bold and brassy” and he’s certainly not wrong. This is without doubt one of the most impressive prehistoric constructs you can find in this country. Old Oswestry does not have the advantage of a lofty hilltop, or cliffs, or a steep escarpment. True, it is on a natural hill rising above the low-level plains of north Shropshire. But the defensive behemoth rising above us is largely the work of human hands.
Along the road, a gate with English Heritage boards gives access to the fort itself. We are facing the western entrance to the fort, which presents an overwhelmingly depressing sight to any would-be attacker. Seven (yes, seven!) lines of ramparts rise above us, one above another. The only way through is straight up the funnel of the western entrance track, providing any number of places for the defenders to throw javelins, fire arrows, pour hot cauldrons, etc over the hapless aggressor.
Luckily such scenes do not greet us today and we can make our way unchallenged up the steep track to the top of the fort. From here, the scale of the western defences, laid out below us, is readily apparent. Once the top is reached, the interior of the fort is a large open grassy space, now home to a herd of cows rather than the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age houses that once stood here.
We walk clockwise around the interior, watching low rain-clouds passing over but thankfully leaving us alone. The fort’s shape is an irregular pentagon, with the western side being the most heavily defended. Around the other sides, there are only(!) five lines of ramparts. Wat’s Dyke picks up its northwards progress from the northern corner of the fort, heading off towards Wrexham. The surrounding ground is lowest to the east of the fort.
Further to the east, the hump-backed and hillforted Wrekin can be seen, while to the southeast the hills around Church Stretton and onwards towards Brown Clee can be made out. Due south, the view is blocked by the Breiddin hills, while to the west the nearby Offa’s Dyke ridge cuts off any lines of sight beyond.
After completing the circuit, we have a look at the mysterious line of pits that have been placed halfway up the western side of the defences, enclosed between ramparts. Each one is different, some are very overgrown while others appear to be full of greenish water. Who knows what they were for? Not me anyway.
Suitably impressed after the walk around, we’ve also managed to avoid any date-related ill-fortune and so we head off back to Oswestry, where a much needed ice cream beckons. A cracker of a site this, fully deserving of its “show site” reputation.
I visited the Hillfort on my way home after a long day in north Wales. Although I was tired and it was starting to get dark, I made my way to the car park and then through the kissing gate and up the steps to the Hillfort. The ramparts are very well preserved and large. The path around the site is easy to follow and there are several E.H. information boards to read.
I didn’t have time to go right around the Hillfort as it was so late but I managed to see about half of it. I am sure I will come back for a longer visit one day. Highly recommended.
What a corker! This is a huge, overwhelming, complex and thoroughly unusual hillfort. Massive ramparts tower upwards, on the eastern side numbering five banks, but on the west increasing to seven. Even more intriguingly, the western side has five massive pits built into the defences, a construction totally unique in hillfort design.
The history is rich (see weblog for full run-down), the views magnificent, the atmosphere lovely and unspoilt. An absolute must-see for any self-respecting hillfort fan, or those requiring a jolly splendid picnic.
An impressive hillfort with complex defences second only to Maiden Castle. Occupied from the 6th century to the Roman occupation. I have only seen it from the A5, but its at the top of my “must visits”. Surprised the site is not already covered on TMA.
Remarking to a gentleman, that I had gleaned up some anecdotes relative to Oswald, he asked me, if I had seen Old Oswestry, where he assured me the town formerly stood? I, with a smile, answered in the negative.
He told me, with a serious face, “that the town had travelled three quarters of a mile, to the place where it had taken up its present abode.” This belief, I found, was adopted by all I conversed with...
.. I could not pass this place without as strict an examination as could be expected from a man of seventy-four, who was to climb and descend a number of ramparts, each thirty or forty feet high, while up to the chin in brambles..
.. when I had made my observations, I retreated to the possessor, to collect what traditionary knowledge I was able. He told me that they had found something like a well in one place, where, he supposed, they hid their treasure; a pavement in another, which, he concluded, was to prevent the horses injuring the ground; and pieces of iron, which, he supposed, were pieces of armour.
That, about thirty years ago, as much timber was cut down from the ramparts as sold for seventeen thousand pounds, which proves them to be extensive; that the proprietor could trace two falls prior to this, which must take up the compass of perhaps five hundred years; but how many before these, were hid in time.
p45/46 of ‘Remarks upon North Wales’ by William Hutton (1803).
From ‘Salopia antiqua’ by Charles Hartshorne (1841) p79:
“It is called ‘Hen Dinas’ or the old city; and anciently Caer Ogyrfan, or Ogyrfan’s Castle, who was a hero contemporary with King Arthur.”
– Ogyfan was the father of Guinevere, of the King Arthur myths.
You can read more about the legends at ‘buzzpages’ buzz-pages.com/features/oswestry/Fest2000/OldOS.htm
which has excerpts from the ‘History of Oswestry’ by a Mr Watkins.
Leland came here in the 1530s:
Hene Dinas a quarter of a mile out of Oswestre north-west. The toune or castelle of Hene Dinas standith apon a rounde hillet aboute half a mile in cumpace. Ther be iii. greate diches in the botom of the hillet cumpasing it, and in the toppe of the hille now grow great treas of oke. The commune people say that ther was a cite withyn those ditches. I think rather a campe of men of war, wheras perventure was the campe when Penda and Oswaldes did fight. There is a nother hillet of caste yerth bytwixt it and Oswester not far from Dinas self.
It always has to be about fighting when it comes to you men doesn’t it. Or so it seems. The nother hillet I assume is the little wooded bump between the fort and Oswestry, on the line of Wat’s Dyke. I’d have liked to have seen all the oke treas up there.
From John Leland’s Itinerary In Wales.
George Nash talks about the ‘Pegasus Stone’, found in 2008 near the currently beleaguered fort. It’s a raised carving of a horse and could be from the Iron Age / Romano-British era...
(tipped off from the Heritage Journal’s mention of a seminar in Oswestry on the 22nd February)
Sites within 20km of Old Oswestry
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Carreg y Big (Selattyn)
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Cynynion
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Selattyn Hill
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Orsedd Wen
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Coed-y-Gaer (Oswestry Rural)
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Graig Wea
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Blodwel Rock
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Mynydd-y-Bryn
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Llanymynech Hill
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Llwynmawr
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Pen-y-Gaer (Llangollen)
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Bryn Mawr
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Tomen y Gwyddel
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Soldier’s Mount
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Crosswood
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Llwyn Bryn Dinas
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Castell Dinas Bran
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Nesscliffe Hill Camp
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Cerrig Gwynion
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Carnedd Rhys Goch
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Tomen y Meirw
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Long Hill
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The Berth
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Eglwyseg stone
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Collfryn
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Eglwyseg
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Eglwyseg
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Eglwyseg kerb cairns A&B
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Creigiau Eglwyseg
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Creigiau Eglwyseg
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Eglwyseg mountain cairns I, II, III
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Eliseg’s Pillar mound
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Breiddin Hill Camp
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Maes Mochnant
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New Pieces Enclosure, Breiddin Hill
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Pen-Plaenau
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Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
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Cefyn y Castell
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Y Gaer (Meifod)
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Mynydd Tarw, Y Berwyn
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Sypian Cerrig-y-Cawr
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Cefn y cist
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Hillbury Round Barrow
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Fairy Oak Round Barrow
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Cefn y Gader cairn 1
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Nant y Mawr
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Gaer Fawr (Welshpool)
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Moel y Gamelin
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Cefn y Gader
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Aber Sychnant
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Bryn Rossett
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Moel Fferna
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Cyrn-y-Brain
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