It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983, when it was renamed North Shropshire.

1918–1949: The Borough of Oswestry, the Urban Districts of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, Wem, and Whitchurch, and the Rural Districts of Drayton, Ellesmere, Oswestry, Wem, and Whitchurch.

1950–1966: The Borough of Oswestry, the Urban Districts of Ellesmere, Market Drayton, Wem, and Whitchurch, and the Rural Districts of Drayton, Ellesmere, Oswestry, and Wem.

1967–1974: The Rural Districts of Market Drayton, North Shropshire and Oswestry.

The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;