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Witney, Oxfordshire

Historical Description

Witney, a market-town, a seat of petty sessions, and head of a union and county court district, and a township, in Oxfordshire. The town stands on the river Windrush, over which there is a three-arched bridge of stone, 11 miles W by N of Oxford, and 65 by road or 75 by rail from London. It was known to the Saxons as Witaneye, signifying the " parliament island; " was given by Bishop Ailwyn, in the time of Edward the Confessor, to Winchester Cathedral; sent two members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. till that of Edward III., and was the scene of a tournament attended by Humphrey Bohun, Aymer de Valence, and other notables. The town now consists chiefly of two streets, the principal of which is upwards of a mile in length. It has a station on the East Gloucestershire branch of the G.W.R., and a head post office. The town-hall, which stands in the market-place, is a small but ancient rectangular building of stone, consisting of a single room supported on nine columns of stone. The corn exchange, erected in 1863, also stands in the market-place, and contains a market hall, which is used also for public meetings, a newsroom, a museum, and several offices. The police station, which stands on the west side of the green, has a large room in which the petty sessions are held. In the market-place there is an old market-house, erected in 1683, and repaired and renovated in 1868. An old local saying asserts that " Witney is celebrated for four B's-beauty, bread, beer, and blankets," and the last of these have for some centuries been a source of profit to the inhabitants. The industry is believed to have derived much of its prosperity from certain sulphurous properties in the waters of the Windrush, which give a peculiar whiteness to the fabrics. The trade declined considerably after the introduction of machinery for blanket-making, but it has been revived of late years, and is now larger than ever it was before. Other woollen goods are also manufactured, and brewing is carried on. There is also a large glove factory. A weekly market for corn is held on Thursdays, and a fortnightly market for cattle and pigs. Fairs are held on the Thursday in Easter week, Thursday after 9 July, Thursday after 24 Aug., Monday and Tuesday following the first Sunday after 8 Sept., Thursday before 10 Oct., and Thursday after 1 Dec. for cattle and cheese. There are two banks, and the town publishes a weekly newspaper. The living is a rectory and vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; gross value, £1320 with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Oxford. The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, stands at the southern extremity of the town, and is a large cruciform building of stone in Norman and Early English to Late Perpendicular, consisting of chancel with organ chamber, nave, aisles, the N aisle having two chapels and a porch, N transept, S transept, with western aisle and chapel, and a very beautiful central tower and lofty spire erected about 1250. It contains some good stained glass and some ancient and interesting tombs and monuments. Holy Trinity Church, a chapel of ease to the parish church, was erected in 1849, and is a fine lofty building of stone in the Early English style. There is also a chapel of ease at Curbridge, dedicated to St John. Other places of worship are a Congregational, two Primitive Methodist, and one Wesleyan chapel, and a place of meeting for the Plymouth Brethren. There are almshouses for twelve poor persons, and there are charities worth about £220 a year. The grammar-school was founded in 1662, and in 1674 the charity was transferred to the Grocers' Company, by whom it was considerably augmented. There is also a Blue-coat School for boys, which has endowments worth about £265 a year. The workhouse, a large building of stone erected about 1835-36, stands about three-quarters of a mile NW from the town, and is capable of holding about 450 persons. The cemetery, opened in 1857, has an area of over 3 acres, and has two mortuary chapels. Area of the township of Witney, 193 acres; population, 3110. Crawley, Curbridge, and Hailey are noticed separately. The manor of Witney belongs to the Duke of Marlborough.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyOxfordshire 
Ecclesiastical parishWitney St. Mary 
HundredBampton 
Poor Law unionWitney 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Oxfordshire Family History Society and Oxfordshire History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Oxfordshire online.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Witney from the following:


Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Oxfordshire is available online


Maps

Online maps of Witney are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Oxfordshire newspapers online:


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitations of Oxfordshire, 1566, 1574 &1634 are available on the Heraldry page.

DistrictWest Oxfordshire
CountyOxfordshire
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Postal districtOX28
Post TownWitney

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