In the 1980s a group of people came together to try to establish a museum in Oswestry, and raised funds to lobby the councils about the importance of displaying local archaeological and historical finds in the town.

When Oswestry Town Council took over the old Oswestry School buildings next to the church, the group thought that they had been successful, and waited to see what the result would be.

But the town council ran into problems in establishing a heritage centre, since it did not have the legal power to create a museum. Costs for the whole scheme began to increase dramatically, and after a number of years of internal wrangles, the council came up with the current concept of the visitor and exhibition centre.

The Tourism Association now provide oversight of the centre, while the catering is let out, and the building, ironically once run as a private dolls' museum, is host to a number of cultural displays and activities throughout the year, attracting a large number of visitors.

In the period when the group thought the council would create the museum, people drifted away from the committee and the area. The records of the first treasurer, Mr Collins, were passed to Lance Dennis, and when he emigrated to New Zealand, were passed to Cllr Owen Jones, who passed them on to Cllr Martin Bennett.

Examining the documents and accounts, Cllr Bennett found that interest over 20 years had increased the sum available, while the loss of members meant that while two signatures were required to release money, he was the only member of the original group left the manage the accounts.

"It came as a bit of a surprise," commented Cllr Bennett "Since the last time we talked about the remaining funds, we donated an award for history to the Walford and North Shropshire College, and assumed that the account was pretty bare. We had talked about a display case for the Cambrian Railway Society, but they never came back to us."

With the help of the town, borough and county councils, the group was re-established to help finally dispose of the forgotten money, which turned out to be more difficult than first imagined.

Promise fulfilled

"Altogether there was about £780 which is not a spectacular sum," said Cllr Bennett. "We did approach the Cambrian Visitors Centre Trust, but they never came back to us, so with the focus on local history being planned into the new Oswestry Library, we decided to buy a display case so that the original purpose of the group – to be able to display the history of the area – could be fulfilled."

Even so, there was not quite enough in the bank so the councillors on the group – Betty Gull (current Chairman), Owen Jones, Joyce Barrow, Phil Box and Martin Bennett reached into their own pockets to bring the money up to the required amount of £865.

Senior Librarian for the North Shropshire Area, Mrs Claire Cartlidge said: "We are very grateful for this generous donation.