We are often told (correctly, if somewhat ideologically), that geocaches should take us to somewhere "interesting", and not simply be placed just for the sake of it. The aim of this series is to try and adhere to this ideal by basing caches around details given on an Interpretation Board about the area in which it is situated. By definition, it is hoped that this information will be "interesting", and will help the cacher discover things about the area that would often not be revealed by a traditional cache.
N.B. The "FYI - Oswestry Defences" caches are intended to be found in numerical order.
The first reference to a Castle in Oswestry was in 1086 in the Domesday book which mentions "Castelle Lurve" as having been built by Rainald, Sheriff of Shropshire. After him the Castle passed to Alan Fitz Flaad and then his son. During the civil war between Stephen & Matilda, William FitzAlan joined forces with Matilda but when Stephen won he was deprived of his lands and titles, which included the castle and its area, and he fled into exile.
The Castle was reclaimed by Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys, along with the Lordship of the area, but on the accession of Henry 2nd in 1154, William reclaimed his estates and titles until his death in 1160. A period of conflict between the Welsh and the English followed and the castle was sacked numerous times. In 1165, Henry used it as a base for his unsuccessful campaign against Owain Gwynedd and later when King John moved against Llywelyn the Great, the Castle came under attack.
By 1270 the castle’s walls had been extended to embrace the town which had grown up around it, but its military significance had declined although Richard 2nd held a Parliament here in 1398. It was garrisoned by Royalist cavalry during the Civil War but was captured by Oliver Cromwell's troops in 1644 and by 1650 it had largely been demolished by the Roundheads.
The collapsed remnants of the stone keep, possibly dating to the 13th Century, are still visible and are a Grade II listed building! The mound here is what is left of the motte of the Castle, and the bailey would have been where the Bailey Head is now – the market square on the other side of the Guildlhall.
The area was restored by public subscription in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887 and opened to the public in 1890. Please take a walk up to the top of the mound, there are some good views. As children we often used to play up here on "Castle Bank" as we knew it.
To find the location of the cache, which is a short drive (or a long walk) away, look at the information on the board:
-
When did the Castle pass to Alan Fitz Flaad? ABCD
-
What year did King John wage war against Prince Llywelyn? EFGH
-
When did King Edward 1st visit the town? IJKL
Now substitute these numbers for the letters in the following to get the final co-ordinates:
North L J L J . A D B West C C (E+F) C (I+J) . C (K-L) (F+L)
I hope that you find this an interesting variation on the caching experience. For a full list of all FYI caches in the series, please go to https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?code=BM4RZ8H
For more details of the FYI series as a whole, you can visit the dedicated website at fyigeocaching.co.uk where you will also find details of how to place your own FYI cache (I'm sure you know of some interesting Interpretation Boards in your area!). You can also join the FYI Geocaching Facebook Group, or contact the Series Owner, John Williams, directly at fyigeocaching@outlook.com