Memories are precious, especially if they invoke happy times of being with friends and family or even visiting unique and interesting places.

Several people also have many happy memories of being in the environs of the railway from across many a generation, past and present.

With this in mind, Shropshire Council is undertaking an engagement programme led by Donald Insall Associates heritage specialists.

The aim is to invite people to share their memories and stories of Oswestry’s large station building, once the headquarters of the Cambrian Railway.

Each submitted memory will help the Shropshire Council in planning out a suitable long-term future for this significantly historic building.

Those that would like to share their reminisces can do so on the Shropshire Council website.

Alternatively, if you live close to or in the town of Oswestry, you can visit the library and complete a paper form before returning it to the building itself.

Those that wish to submit longer stories and any accompanying copies of scanned photographs can do so by email, addressed to consultancy@insall-architects.co.uk.

Several building surveys have been undertaken thanks to funding, and a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) has been set out.

Together they will ensure the building is brought up to standard before any recommendations for future use of the building can be submitted and addressed, before deciding upon by Shropshire Council’s Cabinet in late 2024.

Later in the summer, people can attend a public consultation event and read other people’s stories of this now Grade-II listed building.

“We’re asking people, has your family worked at the station or for the railway line, or travelled from there? Have you, or a family member, worked in the goods and loco sheds, or in the quarries that were served by the line?

“Do you have any recollection of the building’s uses since the railway was closed in 1966? Perhaps you remember its days as an auction house, DIY store, restaurant, tourist information centre or pharmacy, or perhaps you lived in the upstairs flats or worked in the offices.

“What makes the building important, and why? Is it because of the importance that the railways played in Oswestry’s history? Its architecture? The stories of the people who have lived and worked there over the year? Please let us know.”

Kate Martyn from Donald Insall Associates

Built by the Cambrian Railways for use as their headquarters from 1866, the station building served passengers for 100 years before its closure in 1966.

Several attempts to find a use for it have been launched and, while some were successful in the short term, they have since moved on.

The building stood vacant for a number of years before it suffered from some storm damage in 2022.

In 2023, the Shropshire council took ownership of the building before making a decision earlier this year about its potential future.

The ground floor is currently let out to Cambrian Heritage Railways, a local charity that runs a short heritage railway nearby. The first floor of the building is currently unused.

Over the years, the building has suffered from deterioration and is in need of major exterior work to make it safe and waterproof.

Work on this has already started and is being funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with Shropshire Council matching the funds to enable this work to be carried out.

Once the outside has been returned to its former glory, the inside will also see major works being undertaken. The council will lead this before the building can become suitable to use once more.

 “Shropshire Council took possession of this historic building last year, to help secure a viable long term use for it, and I’m delighted that work to repair and bring it back into use is progressing. Now we want people to tell us their memories of what has been a really important building for Oswestry for a very long time.”

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for housing and assets