Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Council

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About Selattyn & Gobowen

In April 1967 local government in Shropshire was re-organised and the new Parish of Selattyn and Gobowen came into being. Before then Selattyn had been a much smaller parish and the Gobowen had been part of the Whittington Parish area.

A view of the parish from Selattyn
A view of the parish from Selattyn

The new Parish, although now not ‘warded’ in electoral terms does have three Council Members for Selattyn and twelve Council Members for Gobowen. The villages that make up the Parish are Gobowen, Selattyn, Hengoed and Pant Glas with smaller collections of dwellings in Pant Glas, Lower and Middle Hengoed and the Old Racecourse area.

The Parish has some notable historic areas with the Oswestry Hill Fort being the most famous.

The Hill fort, Old Oswestry, also known as Hen Dinas, is situated to the north of the modern day town of Oswestry. It is the finest example of an Iron age hill fort found inn the Marches and the country, as it has a highly elaborate set of defences.

These defences may be due to the fact it is constructed on a very low hill thus requiring a more complex set of ramparts especially seen on the western side of the fort where the surrounding hills are higher. The enclosed area of the hill fort is approximately 15 acres; however, including the defences it encloses a massive 56 acres, making it the biggest anywhere in the country.

The second most notable historic area is that of the Old race Course. The Old Race course also known as Cyrny-Bwch (Horns of the Buck) in Welsh, is rich in natural diversity that can be appreciated by walkers and nature lovers alike.

As the name suggests this common was a racecourse. The last race taking place here in 1848. The former racetrack, with its distinctive figure of eight shape can still be seen today. The elevated position of the common allows for glorious views of the Welsh Hills and the Shropshire Plain.

There are also some thirty one listed buildings and constructions within parish and a full copy of the register of listed buildings is available from Oswestry Borough Council.