Search results for ""Author John Idris Jones""

The Shropshire town of Oswestry, lying close to the Welsh border, has long been significant and its history reveals its mixed Welsh and English heritage. At one time part of the Welsh kingdom of Powys, Oswestry’s history stretches back into the Bronze Age and it is the site of one of the best-preserved hill forts in Britain. In this book author John Idris Jones reveals the hidden history of Oswestry and its surrounding villages. From its connections to the legendary figure of King Arthur and the site of the battle between the competing Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria where King Oswald, from whom the town’s name is derived, died, to the Norman takeover of the area and the later revolt by Owain Glyndwr, Oswestry has been fought over for centuries. It also developed as a prosperous market town serving the community and later is famed as the birthplace of First World War poet Wilfred Owen. Secret Oswestry is fully illustrated and will appeal to all those with an interest in this ancient town.

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The town of Wrexham and its immediate vicinity has a rich heritage of industry, including coal, iron and steel, brewing, tanning, brick and tile making and lead mining. In Secret WrexhamJohn Idris Jones takes the reader on a tour of the town’s past, illustrated by his own photographs. Here you’ll meet John ‘Iron Mad’ Wilkinson, who made cannons for the American Civil War; the striking remains of the once huge Bersham Colliery; John Godfrey Parry-Thomas, the racing driver who broke the land speed record on Pendine Sands; and Rosemarie Frankland, Britain’s first Miss World. Outside of this area is extensive farmland with interesting, charming towns and villages. From Chirk, the author takes you up the magical Ceiriog Valley, and in Penley he gives an account of the Polish camp that became a hospital for wounded US soldiers. In a woodland in Overton he finds the grave of the extraordinary horse Poethlyn, who won the Grand National in 1919. The nineteen-year-old Luciano Pavarotti also features, who visited Llangollen for the International Eisteddfod in 1955. This wide-ranging illustrated collection tells the story of Wrexham’s varied past in an informative and engrossing way.

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