Ellesmere
Ellesmere is a market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, significant for its distance to a variety of popular Meres. The town is situated by the side of Ellesmere (aka 'the Mere'), one of the largest natural meres in England outside the Lake District as well as one of nine antarctic meres in the area. ('glacial' indicates that the clinical depression inhabited by the mere was the place of a block of ice that persisted at the end of the last Ice Age). These meres are various from those in the Lake District because they do not have a flow of water into them to maintain the degree. A man-made island in the Mere was constructed in 1812 from soil dug out during the making of the gardens at Ellesmere House. This was later named Moscow Island, as Napoleon was required to retreat from Moscow that year. The Mere has a visitors' centre and is popular with birdwatchers, much of whom see to see grey herons nesting. There are eight various other meres close by: Blakemere, Colemere, Crosemere, Kettlemere, Newtonmere, Whitemere, Sweatmere as well as Hanmer Mere. The civil parish which constitutes the community is Ellesmere Urban; the bordering church, covering a huge rural area, is Ellesmere Rural.
