Before the Norman Conquest, Witney was the meeting place of the Saxon King's Council. This Council was known as the 'Witan' and it was from this that the present name of Witney was probably derived. So the place name of Witney means "Witta's Island", which is ideal for a place, on the bottom of the valley of the River Windrush and its tributaries.

There is strong evidence of both Iron Age and Roman settlements in the area. Witney became a place of importance to Saxons and it was first recorded in AD 969. Then it was a very small settlement covering an area from where Corn Street is now through to West Oxon College.

In 1044 Queen Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor granted the Bishops of Winchester an estate in Witney and the ownership of the estate is referenced in the Doomesday Book. A palace was built next to the parish church, the foundations of which were excavated in 1984. One of the streets in Witney, Queen Emmas Dyke, probably relates in some way to this granting of the estate by Queen Emma.

The Bishop of Winchester who promptly started to build a palace here - the remains of which can still be seen today at the site which can be found at the top of the town behind Sainsbury's supermarket. In 1086's , Witney was called ''Witenie'' was having a population of only 300. (Domesday Book).

Butter Cross

The town started to grow as the result of development by the Bishops of Winchester who, some time between 1047 and 1070, built a Palace (on a site known as the Mount) at the far end of Church Green which was then used as a market place. The foundations of the Palace remain and, after excavations, are now open to the public on summer weekends. During the civil war between King Stephen and Matilda the palace was fortified by Bishop Henry of Blois who although he was Stephen's brother, changed allegiance to Matilda when Stephen failed to make him Archbishop of Canterbury When Peter des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester came to the palace this was when Witney really started to prosper. King John's visits in 1207 saw the town growing in importance in cloth-making using wool from farms on the nearby Cotswold hills and water from the River Windrush. Latterly using the wool and water to make the Witney blankets which have become famous all over the world.

When Henry III stayed in the town, the population was around 1000.

In the Domesday Survey, Witney is recorded as having two mills, both for grinding corn, but by 1277 at least one cloth or filling mill was established in the area. By the end of the Middle Ages Witney was a lively market town with a developing industry of blanket and glove making. Both Witney and Cogges (now a village within Witney's boundaries) grew apace and it was at Witney that King John is said to have called together his quasi-parliament to discuss the articles that were to form the basis of Magna Carta.

For centuries, Witney has been associated with blankets. And although the last blanket mill closed in 2002, the association will live in the minds of local people and visitors alike for many years. Witney was famous for the manufacturing of blankets using water from the River Windrush which, so the story goes, was the secret of their quality. One of the most famous blanket makers in the town, if not the biggest, was Early's who were in business for more than 300 years.

By 1677, Witney blankets were esteemed so far beyond all others that this place has engrossed the whole trade of the nation in this commodity. At that time there were 60 ''blanketeers'' in Witney and their 150 looms employed around 3,000 people. Blanket makers were incorporated as a guild and strict rules to enforce the quality of their blankets were drawn up. The guild was granted a charter by Queen Anne and a Blanket Hall was built in the High Street. Wool Gate - Here all blankets had to be taken for measuring and weighing so as to maintain the very high standard that made the name of Witney famous throughout the world In 1711 the Weavers formed a Guild and were granted a Charter by Queen Anne.

Woolgate Shopping Centre

They then built the blanket hall in the High Street. Witney is a beautiful blend of modern and historical. From the Buttercross, a medieval market place to the Town Hall of the 17th century and again to the 13th century spire of the Church of St. Mary, the architecture is breathtaking and filled with rich historical significance.

In 1858, a company was formed to construct a railway from Cheltenham to Oxford by way of Witney. As was so often the case in those ''railway mania'' days, financial problems soon arose and the line never reached Cheltenham. The section from Oxford through Witney as far as Fairford was opened as the Witney Railway on November 14th 1861 with four trains a day in each direction and a fare from Oxford to Witney of two shillings and sixpence only! During the First World War Witney lost 157 men. The town had an influx of foreigners including, Belgium refugees and American and Canadian servicemen.

Saint Mary's Church

The town lost only 35 men to the Second World War and was mercifully untouched by bombing. The airfield (once on the site of the Bromags Industrial Estate) played an important part during the war. It was then owned by de Havilland and was a repair workshop for Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes. Americans again visited Witney from the new airbase as Brize Norton which is now an RAF base. The blanket industry survived the depression of the 1930s well but started to decline after the Second World War. Just one mill - Early's Witney Mill - was left in recent years, ironically one of the oldest names in the industry. It, too, closed in 2002, production being transferred elsewhere.

One might see Witney as a quaint little town. It is actually the largest town in West Oxfordshire. With its museums and working farm and the important part it played in history, one might be surprised to find that it is actually quite modern.