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Witney (St. Mary)

WITNEY (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Bampton, county of Oxford; containing, with the chapelry of Hailey, and the hamlets of Crawley and Curbridge, 5707 inhabitants, of whom 3419 are in the town, 11 miles (W. by N.) from Oxford, and 65 (W. N. W.) from London. This place, anciently called Whitteney, was of some importance prior to the Conquest, and was one of the manors given to the monastery of St. Swithin at Winchester, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, by Bishop Ailwyn, in gratitude for the deliverance of Queen Emma, mother of that monarch, from the reputed fiery ordeal which she underwent in Winchester cathedral. In the reign of Edward II., solemn tournaments were held here, between Henry Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke; the latter of whom was a great benefactor to the town. In the fifth year of the same reign, the place was made a borough, and returned two members to parliament, from which, however, it was released, on petition of the inhabitants, in the 33rd of Edward III.

The town is situated on the road from London to Cheltenham and Gloucester, and on the river Windrush, a stream abounding with trout and cray-fish, much resorted to by students from Oxford, and over which a substantial stone bridge of three arches was erected in 1822. It consists principally of two streets, containing neat well-built houses, and has a clean and respectable appearance. The environs are pleasant, being varied with hill and dale. Witney has long been celebrated for its manufacture of blankets, which have been invariably regarded as superior, both in texture and colour, to all others: the latter quality is attributable to the peculiar properties of the water of the Windrush. The weavers were incorporated in the tenth year of the reign of Anne, under the designation of "the Master, Assistants, Wardens, and Commonalty of Blanket-Weavers inhabiting in Witney, in the county of Oxford, or within twenty miles thereof;" and at that time the manufacturers had 150 looms in full operation, affording occupation to more than 3000 persons, and consuming weekly about 200 packs of wool. The charter continued in force for some years, and under its provisions the company enacted laws; but in process of time, it was found to interfere with improvements in the manufacture, and having become incompatible with the interests of the trade, as at present conducted, it has nearly fallen into disuse. The number of persons now employed averages only about 1000, but the quantity of wool consumed annually, which is 10,000 packs, is nearly the same as formerly; the reduction in the number of hands being occasioned by the use of machinery. Rough coatings, webbings, horse-girthing, tilting for barges and wagons, felting for paper-makers, and mops, are likewise made to a considerable extent. The glove trade affords employment to a small number of persons; and woolstapling, as connected with the manufactures of the town, is carried on. There is also a good trade in malt. An act was passed in 1846 for making a branch to Witney, 4½ miles in length, from the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton railway.

The market is on Thursday. A market lately established for cattle and sheep is held on the last Thursday in each month; and fairs take place on the Tuesday in Easter-week, on Holy-Thursday, July 10th, the Thursday after September 8th, the Thursday before October 10th, and on December 4th. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates; and two bailiffs, assisted by two constables and other officers, are appointed by the jury at the court leet, annually: a court baron is held twice in the year by the Duke of Marlborough, as lessee under the Bishop of Winchester. The powers of the county debt-court of Witney, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Witney. A handsome blanket-hall was erected in 1721: the town-hall is a neat stone building, with a piazza for the use of the market; the market-cross, in the marketplace, near the town-hall, was erected in 1683, and repaired in 1811. The parish is co-extensive with the manor, and comprises 7084a. 35p., of which 4368 acres are arable, 1785 grass, and 556 wood.

The living comprises a rectory and a vicarage, united in the 9th of Charles I., into one benefice, by the designation of a rectory, with a reservation of the dues and fees of each, as if separate; the rectory is valued in the king's books at £47. 9. 4½., and the vicarage at £9. 12. 6.: patron, the Bishop of Winchester. The tithes have been commuted for £1714, and there is a glebehouse with land adjacent, besides a glebe-farm of 124 acres at Curbridge. The church is a spacious cruciform structure in the early, decorated, and later English styles, with a square central tower having octagonal turrets at the angles, and surmounted by a lofty spire, panelled in compartments, and richly ornamented. The nave is separated from the aisles by handsome piers and finelypointed arches, and is lighted by a range of clerestory windows in the later style. The transepts are large, and the western, which is in the decorated style, is lighted by an elegant window of seven lights; the chancel, which is small, is in the early English style, with windows of delicate tracery. There are several monumental effigies in the transepts, and many ancient tombs in various parts of the church. In each of the hamlets of Hailey, Curbridge, and Crawley, is a chapel, the first built in 1761, the second in 1836, and the last in 1837. In the town are places of worship for Independents, the Society of Friends, and Wesleyans.

The free grammar school, on Church Green, was established under an act of parliament in 1664, by Henry Box, a native of the town, and citizen of London, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £63; the buildings comprise a spacious schoolroom, with a library, dwellinghouse for the master, and a large play-ground in front. A free school was founded in 1723, by Mr. John Holloway, who endowed it with lands producing about £135 per annum, for sons of journeymen weavers; and the same benefactor erected almshouses for six widows of blanket-weavers, and assigned to them land worth £85 a year. William Blake, in 1693, endowed a school with £26 per annum. Some ancient almshouses, on Church Green, were taken down, and six substantial houses erected, in 1795, by the feoffees of the charity estates; these are at present let to tenants, and the rents distributed among the poor. Six neat almshouses for aged and unmarried women were erected in 1828, by Mr. Townsend; and there are several charitable bequests for distribution. The poor-law union of Witney comprises forty-two parishes or places, containing a population of 22,963. The Roman Akeman-street passes near the town.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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