Then and now: Oswestry folk came to author David's aid
As prolific Shrewsbury author and historian David Trumper worked on his 24th book, taking a "then and now" look at Oswestry, he faced a dual problem.
One was that he didn't know Oswestry well, and the other was that some places in the border town have changed so much that he couldn't work out where to take his modern comparison pictures from.
But Oswestry folk came to his rescue and the result is "Oswestry Through Time," the latest in a series of books in the format from Amberley Publishing.
"They asked me to do it, I suppose because I've done so many others and they seemed quite popular," said David.
"I'm not 'Oswestry' but I have a very good friend who worked there many years ago and knew quite a lot of the places, and he took me out there and pointed me in the right direction. And then I have one or two friends living in that area helping with some really hard ones.
"There's absolutely nothing left around the Cambrian works and the Cambrian station where a lot of the buildings have disappeared and the roads have been realigned, and they pointed me in the right direction.
"The friends helping me were Richard Mellor and David Wood and I know Oswestry a lot better now than I did when I started out.
"It took me about three or four months to get the photographs I needed to get them right. I went back on my own several times and retook photographs to get the best result.
"I must say that I found the people of Oswestry very nice and they helped me if I was stuck on something. They would come up and talk to me and ask what I was doing, and showed an interest.
"I had to go on to private property a couple of times, like at the Wynnstay Hotel, where there's a photograph of the back. I went into the hotel and they said straight away 'oh yes, go on through and take your photograph,' which I found very nice.
"I found Oswestry to be a very smart little market town and I was very impressed with what they have been doing there and how they have tidied it up. It seems to me to be a vibrant little town.
"The biggest area of change was around where the railway station was which has been altered beyond recognition, although in different parts of the town there were a lot of buildings which were the same."
Among those places featured in the book, which has 180 illustrations, are New Street, with a view from perhaps around 1960 looking towards the old Century Cinema, which David says in the book closed on January 4, 1966, and became a Granada Bingo Club. His modern picture of the street shows that it is now a Wilko store.
Another view in the book shows the Crosville bus depot, which David writes had been a drill hall before becoming a bus depot in 1933. His "now" picture shows that it has disappeared, and the site is a car park for an Aldi store. However, the building which stood next to the depot and was the offices and printing works of the Border Counties Advertizer still stands.
Despite many changes, there are some views in the centre of town which have changed little in over 100 years or more, one example being Cross Street, where David's comparison shot featuring the impressive old National Provincial Bank and Llwyd's Mansion is different only in the names of the shops and the dress of the Oswestrians in the street.
Oswestry Through Time is published by Amberley Publishing and costs £14.99
