Monument Type(s):

• RAILWAY (Mid 19th century to 20th century (post-war) - 1845 AD to 1966 AD)

Summary

The Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway was completed in 1848.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA6097 - 2006 DBA on land at Oldport Farm, Oswestry by Castlering Archaeology
• ESA6742 - 2010 DBA and walkover assessment along proposed Vyrnwy pipeline (Oswestry to Penley) by Oxford Archaeology North

Description

The Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway was completed in 1848 <1>

OS map 1875 shows embankment for railway line N of Oswestry railway station (cf SA5704) <2>

CMHTS Record Sheet <3>
CMHTS Report <4>

In 1845 the Shrewsbury Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway was formed with the intention of constructing a line from the Shrewsbury to Chester railway at Gobowen, through Oswestry to Llanymynech. The line was only completed as far as Oswestry, in December 1848, by which time the company had been amalgamated with the North Wales Mineral Railway to form the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, itself later absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1854 <5>

In 1845 the Shrewsbury, Oswestry & Chester Railway (which a year later merged with the North Wales Mineral Railway to become the Shrewsbury & Chester Railway, or SCR) was authorised by Parliament to construct not only a railway from Shrewsbury to Chester [see PRN 08444], but also a branch line leaving it at Gobowen. The original scheme was intended to link up at Crickheath with the proposed Shropshire Union of Railways & Canals (SURC) line from Crewe to Newtown. However, the SURC line did not materialise [see PRNs 05520 and 08462 for the only lines actually built by the SURC). Consequently the SCR branch was shortened, and terminated at Oswestry. It opened in late 1848, shortly after the opening of the main Shrewsbury-Chester line. ->

-> The line operated until 1966, shortly after all Oswestry's other rail links had been severed by Beeching. <6>

A desk based assessment of the Vyrnwy Pipeline, carried out in 2010, assessed that the proposed works could have an impact upon a section of the railway. A watching brief over the route as it crossed this area was recommended. <7>

A conservation management plan was prepared, to assess the importance of the former Cambrian Railways system around Oswestry. It proposes ways in which the proposed route (from Gobowen to Llanymynech) can be reopened as a working railway, whilst preserving and enhancing its special qualities. Contains a detailed history of the development of the railway, as well as a survey of the proposed route and physical features of the former railway system, including a detailed gazetteer of individual features. <8>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.