Oswestry was a small local government district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 with borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 status in Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was the smallest of the five districts of Shropshire in terms of both population and land area.

Its council was based in Oswestry

Oswestry

Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....

, the only town and largest settlement in the borough. Villages in the borough included Morda

Morda

Morda is a village on the outskirts of the town of Oswestry, Shropshire, England, located near the border of England and Wales.It is named after the River Morda, which, with the River Tanat, is one of the first major tributaries joining the River Severn as it wends its way from its birth place on...

, St Martin's

St Martin's, Shropshire

The border village and civil parish of St Martin's is in Shropshire, England, just north of Oswestry and east of Chirk.-History:The ancient Parish of St Martin's was made up of the townships of Ifton, Wiggington, Bronygarth and Weston Rhyn. Each of these townships bordered Wales, with the River...

, Whittington

Whittington, Shropshire

Whittington is a village in north west Shropshire, England.The civil parish of Whittington has a population of 2,490 as of the 2001 census. The village of Whittington is in the centre of the parish, and two smaller villages, Hindford to the north-east and Babbinswood to the south, are also within...

, Gobowen

Gobowen

Gobowen is a large village in Shropshire, England, of population 3,927 .-History:The village was previously called Bryn-y-Castell, but the name in time changed to Gobowen. The name Gobowen is believed to originate from Gob and Owen who was believed to have rested his weary head there...

, Pant

Pant, Shropshire

Pant is a village in Shropshire, England. It lies near the border with Wales. Pant means 'hollow' in Welsh: it is directly below the disused mines at Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve....

, Trefonen

Trefonen

Trefonen is a small village located approximately 3 miles south-west of Oswestry, and 3 miles east of the England-Wales border, in Shropshire, England. The name translates into "village of the ash trees" in English. In 2001, the total population was 1,798, but there has been considerable...

 and Ruyton XI Towns.

The three most deprived wards in Shropshire (not including Telford and Wrekin) were found in Oswestry Borough. They are Victoria, Gatacre and Llanyblodwel

Llanyblodwel

Llanyblodwel is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England; the spelling "Llanyblodwell" was commonly used in the past, and the village was sometimes simply referred to as "Blodwell". It lies 7 miles west of the nearest town, Oswestry, in the valley of the River Tanat.The parish had a...

.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, and was a direct successor to Oswestry Rural District.

The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009 when the new Shropshire unitary authority was established, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England

2009 structural changes to local government in England

Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...

.