Pictured is the oldest wooden gate in the district. It was hung in 1967, bought from W.H .Thomas that had a saw mill in Oswestry on Salop Road where Sainsbury’s is today. Craftsmanship to last from matured oak.
Most gates today are hung, rung and swung as they are metal – but the gateways themselves are ancient thoroughfares for the most logical position when manoeuvring farm livestock and machinery back and fore from field to farm.
It was the enclosure of land and the planting of hedges that was their inception. Some have the original gate posts masoned at the local quarry but all tend to be the muddiest part of the field as ‘grass never grows on a busy street’. Hooves and tyres cut up the land and dairy cows with their twice daily commute to the parlour being the worst culprits.