Maesbrook
| Maesbrook | |
|---|---|
 The Black Horse Inn public house, Maesbrook | |
  Maesbrook Location within Shropshire | |
| Population | (See Kinnerley) |
| OS grid reference | SJ305215 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Oswestry |
| Postcode district | SY10 |
| Dialling code | 01691 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Maesbrook /ˈmeɪsbrʊk/[1] is a village in Shropshire, England. Maesbury and Maesbury Marsh are about a mile north of Maesbrook. Pant is also nearby, just north of Llanymynech.
It lies between the villages of Llanymynech and Knockin, south of the town of Oswestry. The A5 road is nearby, as is the border with Wales.
History
Railway
Maesbrook railway station was on the defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. A branch line running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales. It opened in 1911 becoming one of the Colonel Stephens Railways.
In 1933 passenger services were suspended. The railway was taken over by the War Department at the outbreak of World War II when a top-secret armaments storage centre was built at Kinnerley. The line remained in military ownership until it was closed in 1960. Notes on wartime role
Osbaston House deaths
The village came to national prominence in August 2008 after a multi-millionaire businessman shot dead his family before committing suicide by setting fire to their £1.2 million home.[2][3]
Christopher Foster killed his 49-year-old wife, Jill, and their 15-year-old daughter, Kirstie, shortly after they had attended a barbecue party at a friend's home. Guests told police that there was nothing to indicate anything suspicious in Foster's manner or behaviour.[4]
A two-day inquest held in April 2009 heard that on the night of the killings, Kirstie had chatted with friends via social media until around midnight when her father had told her to go to bed. At some point later, Foster used his legally-owned rifle to kill his wife and daughter. CCTV footage then showed him outside shooting the family's horses and dogs. He also shot the tyres out on all the cars and blocked the entrance gate to the property with a horse transporter. Foster then doused the house, garage and stables in Heating oil. Once alight, he returned to his wife's body in an apparent act of immolation.[5]
An expert said that Foster killed his family because his businesses were in severe financial trouble and he wanted to "protect" them from poverty.[6]
References
- ^ Wells, John (15 January 2010). "Ruyton how many?". John Wells's phonetic blog. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ "Arson mansion in close-up". BBC NEWS. 1 September 2008.
- ^ "Police believe Christopher Foster killed his wife and daughter in Shropshire". The Times. 2 September 2008.
- ^ "Bodies found at Osbaston House". The Independent. 31 August 2008.
- ^ "Why did Christopher Foster kill his family and then himself?". The Guardian. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Foster 'wanted to protect family'". BBC NEWS. 3 April 2009.
External links
Media related to Maesbrook at Wikimedia Commons
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