Witney
Witney | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | Witney | |
Postcode district | OX28 | |
Dialling code | 01993 | |
Police | Thames Valley | |
Fire | Oxfordshire | |
Ambulance | South Central | |
UK Parliament | ||
Website | Witney Town Council | |
Arms of Witney Town Council | |
---|---|
urban district council on 9 September 1955.[2] |
Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) west of Oxford.
History
The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island".[3] The earliest known record of it is as Wyttannige in a Saxon charter of 969. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Witenie,[4] in the ancient hundred of Bampton.[5][6]
The
Holy Trinity Church, Wood Green, was built in 1849 in a Gothic Revival rendition of Early English Gothic. St Mary the Virgin and Holy Trinity are now members of a single team parish.[10]
The
Witney Market began in the Middle Ages. Thursday is the traditional market day but there is also a market on Saturday. The buttercross in the market square is so called because people from neighbouring towns would gather there to buy butter and eggs. It was built in about 1600 and its clock was added in 1683.[15] Witney Town Hall, which is arcaded on the ground floor and has an assembly room on the first floor, was completed in 1786.[19] Witney has long been an important crossing over the River Windrush. The architect Thomas Wyatt rebuilt the bridge in Bridge Street in 1822.[20]
Witney
Industry
Witney has been famous for its woollen blankets since the Middle Ages.[25] The water for the production of these blankets is drawn from the River Windrush, which was believed to be the secret of Witney's high-quality blankets. The cloth industry dominated life in Witney where one 17th-century observer noted that "almost 3,000 people from 8 years old to old age worked" in the manufacture of blankets.[26] Mops were also traditionally made by the blanket manufacturers; at one time every ship in the Royal Navy had Witney mops aboard. The Blanket Hall in High Street was built in 1721 for weighing and measuring blankets.[15] At one time there were five blanket factories in the town but with the closure of the largest blanket maker Early's, in 2002, the town's blanket industry completely ceased production. Early's factory, once a vital and important part of the town's history, has now been demolished, and is the site of several new housing estates.
One of the oldest mill sites in the town, New Mill, where there has been a mill since the
Railways
The Witney Railway opened Witney's first station in 1861, linking the town to Yarnton where the line joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. In 1873 the East Gloucestershire Railway opened from a new station, linking Witney with Lechlade and Fairford. The Great Western Railway operated services on both lines and eventually took them over. In 1962 British Railways closed the EGR completely and withdrew passenger services from the Witney Railway. In 1970 British Railways closed the Witney Railway completely and it was dismantled.
Reopening proposal
In 2015 Witney Oxford Transport Group (WOT) proposed the reopening of the railway, with a station at Witney, as an alternative to improvements to the A40 road proposed by Oxfordshire County Council.[27] In 2016 WOT and West Oxfordshire Green Party cited chronic traffic congestion on roads linking Witney with Oxford as a reason to reopen the railway.[28] In 2021 WOT Group submitted a bid to the Department for Transport's 'Restoring Your Railway' Ideas Fund for a grant to develop the case for a new railway in the A40 corridor 'Building a better-connected West Oxfordshire, transforming the wider Oxford economic region' as part of an Oxford Metro advocated by Railfuture.
Museums
Witney has four museums.
, represents farming and countryside history. Witney and District Museum has many artefacts and documents representing the history of the town. Witney Blanket Hall, built in the 18th century, showcases both the history of the Hall and of Witney's blanket industry and has Witney blankets for sale. The Wychwood Brewery has a museum open at weekends.Education
Witney has three county secondary schools:
Witney has five community primary schools: Madley Park Community Primary School,[38] Queen's Dyke Primary School,[39] Tower Hill Community Primary School,[40] West Witney Primary School[41] and Witney Community Primary School.[42] It also has one SEN primary school, Springfield School, which is part of the same school as Springfield secondary School. Springfield school (Primary) shares a building with Madley Brook Primary, but aside from sharing a building, some resources and integration, the schools run independently of one another. The former Witney Technical College is now part of Abingdon and Witney College.[43] A complete rebuilding of its premises began in September 2008.
Sports
The Toleman Group Motorsport racing team was once based in Witney until it was rebranded Benetton Formula in 1986. The team itself stayed in Witney until 1992 when they moved to Enstone eventually being rebranded in 2002 as Renault F1 when the team was purchased by the French Renault car company. The team competed as Renault F1 until 2011, when it was again rebranded this time under the "Lotus Renault GP" name after forging a partnership with the British Lotus Cars company. The subsequent year the team became Lotus F1 after they dropped the Renault name. The team was later re-purchased by Renault in late 2015 to become the Renault Sport F1 Team for 2016.
Politics
Witney was, until recently, a safe seat for the Conservative Party. Former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd and former leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister David Cameron were both MPs for Witney. In the 1997 General Election, Shaun Woodward stood and won the seat as a Conservative, after Hurd retired. Woodward switched to the Labour Party in 1999. In the 2001 General Election Woodward stood as the Labour candidate in the St Helens South constituency, and David Cameron retook Witney for the Conservatives. He became Prime Minister in coalition with the Liberal Democrats in May 2010 and continued after the 2015 election, in which the Conservative Party gained a majority, but retired to the backbenches after the referendum that rejected his government's recommendation to remain in the European Union. He stood down as an MP soon afterwards, triggering a by-election held on 20 October 2016, in which Robert Courts was elected for the Conservatives. Courts was re-elected in 2017.
For elections to Oxfordshire County Council Witney is covered by the electoral wards of 'Witney North and East' and 'Witney South and Central'. The west of the town is included in the ward of 'Witney West and Bampton' which includes villages of Bampton and Ducklington.[54] The wards were created in 2013, with the new Witney South and Central won by the Labour Party and the other two wards won by the Conservatives.[55] At the 2021 Oxfordshire County Council election Labour held Witney South and Central and gained Witney North and East from the Conservatives.[56]
For elections to
Twinning
Witney is
- Unterhaching, Germany
- Le Touquet, France
Floods
In July 2007 Witney saw its worst flooding in more than 50 years. Homes and businesses were evacuated and Bridge Street, a major road into the town and the only road across the Windrush, was closed. About 200 properties in central Witney were flooded, with areas around Bridge Street, Mill Street and West End the worst affected. The new and incomplete housing development Aquarius also suffered substantial flooding. In 2008 further flooding contributed to the death of a 17-year-old boy who drowned in a culvert.[59]
Climate
Witney has a maritime climate type typical to the British Isles, with evenly spread rainfall, a narrow temperature range, and comparatively low sunshine totals. The nearest official weather station is Brize Norton, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Witney. The absolute maximum recorded was 35.4c(95.7f)[60] in August 1990, although in a typical year the warmest day should only reach 29.5c(85.1f)[61] with an average of 14.6 days[62] reporting a maximum temperature of 25.1c(77.2f) or above. The absolute minimum is −20.7c(−5.3f),[63] recorded in January 1982. In a more typical year the annual minimum temperature should be −8.1c(17.4f),[64] although a total of 47.1 nights[65] should report an air frost. Rainfall averages slightly under 644mm[66] per year with more than 1mm of rain falling on just under 115 days[67] of the year.
Climate data for Brize Norton, elevation 88m, 1991–2020, extremes 1901– | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) |
18.4 (65.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.9 (78.6) |
32.2 (90.0) |
33.5 (92.3) |
34.8 (94.6) |
35.4 (95.7) |
33.4 (92.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.1 (61.0) |
35.4 (95.7) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
13.9 (57.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
20.1 (68.2) |
22.5 (72.5) |
21.9 (71.4) |
19.0 (66.2) |
14.8 (58.6) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.0 (46.4) |
14.6 (58.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) |
1.6 (34.9) |
3.0 (37.4) |
4.8 (40.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.5 (45.5) |
4.2 (39.6) |
2.0 (35.6) |
6.5 (43.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −20.7 (−5.3) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−4 (25) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−20.5 (−4.9) |
−20.7 (−5.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 66.2 (2.61) |
48.1 (1.89) |
46.4 (1.83) |
49.2 (1.94) |
60.1 (2.37) |
49.8 (1.96) |
55.1 (2.17) |
58.6 (2.31) |
54.2 (2.13) |
70.9 (2.79) |
73.2 (2.88) |
74.2 (2.92) |
706 (27.8) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 62.6 | 81.3 | 123.2 | 171.9 | 206.1 | 209.4 | 214.7 | 193.4 | 151.5 | 111.6 | 70.8 | 55.5 | 1,652 |
Source: Met Office[68] |
Media
The town receives its television signals from the Oxford TV transmitter.
In May 2010, WitneyTV was launched as a non-profit online broadcaster with a weekly show that features local news and upcoming events within West Oxfordshire for the benefit of the community. An archive of videos featuring local attractions, clubs, organisations and previous shows is also available.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart West on 97.2, Heart South on 102.6, BBC Radio Wiltshire on 103.6, and Greatest Hits Radio South on 106.4 FM. On 30 November 2012 Witney Radio was launched. Providing hyper-local news, music and current affairs to the people of Witney and West Oxfordshire. A licence to broadcast on FM radio was granted in April 2016 by the licensing authority OFCOM. On 14 July 2017 Witney Radio began to broadcast on 99.9fm to Witney and West Oxfordshire. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with over 30 presenters from the local area. The station also broadcasts online for listeners online via TuneIn.
The local newspapers are the Oxford Times, Oxfordshire Guardian and Witney Gazette.
Notable people
Notable people associated with Witney include:
- Emma Appleton, actress[69]
- David Cameron, former MP for Witney, former PM of the UK
- Jamie Cook, footballer
- Alan Dapre, children's TV show writer
- Lawson D'Ath, footballer
- Jorge Grant, footballer
- Darrell Griffin, rugby league footballer
- Douglas Hurd, former Conservative MP for Witney
- Charlie Hutchison, British communist
- Martin Jones, concert pianist
- Simon King, footballer
- Graham Leonard, 130th Bishop of London
- Rhys Lewis, singer-songwriter
- Robert Llewellyn, Red Dwarf actor and author
- Andrew Logan, artist
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw, TV and film actress
- Maddie Moate, television presenter and YouTuber
- David Moss, footballer
- Robbie Mustoe, footballer
- Lorraine Pascal, model and TV chef
- Miss Read (Dora Saint), author
- Larry Sanders, Green party councillor
- William Smith, cricketer
- James Allen Shuffrey, watercolour artist
- Leonard Shuffrey, architect and architectural designer[70]
- Patrick Steptoe, pioneer of fertility treatment
- Shaun Woodward, Conservative and then Labour MP for Witney, then Labour MP for St Helens South
See also
References
- ^ "Witney". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "WITNEY TOWN COUNCIL (OXFORDSHIRE)". Robert Young. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
- ^ Open Domesday: Witney. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Open Domesday: Bampton hundred
- ^ "British History Online: Bampton hundred". British-history.ac.uk. 1996. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, pages 843–845
- ^ Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell ringers, Witney & Woodstock Branch
- ISBN 978-0-500-34314-2.
- ^ "Church of England Parish of Witney". Witney Team Parish. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Burford Quakers Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "High Street Methodist Church". Witneymeth.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Curtis, Brian. "Witney". Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ 1&1 Website Builder. "The Parish of Our Lady & St. Hugh Catholic Church". Our Lady and St Hugh. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 846
- ^ Curtis, Brian. "Witney, Our Lady & St Hugh (RC)". Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Find a Church". Find a Church. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Witney & Cogges Conservation Area Character Appraisal: Preservation and Enhancement" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Baggs, A. P.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Nicholas; Crossley, Alan; Day, Christopher; Selwyn, Nesta; Williamson, Elizabeth; Yates, Margaret (2004). "'Witney borough: Introduction, Architecture and Buildings', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 14, Bampton Hundred (Part Two), ed. Simon Townley". London: British History Online. pp. 33–68. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 847
- ^ a b Sherwood & Pevsner 1974, p. 851
- ^ The Workhouse: Witney Archived 21 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Crawford Collets". Crawford Collets. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Curtis, Brian. "Witney, Workhouse chapel". Oxfordshire Churches & Chapels. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
- ^ Clare Sumner. "history Witney Blanket Story – A brief history of the wool trade in the Witney area". Witneyblanketstory.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7126-6199-7.
- ^ Elvery, Martin (5 February 2015). "Campaigners want new railway station at Yarnton to ease A40 congestion in West Oxfordshire". Witney Gazette. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ "Bid to reopen Witney train track ahead of key rail summit". Oxfordshire Guardian. Taylor Newspapers. 4 February 2016.
- ^ Henry Box School Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Wood Green School". Woodgreen.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Springfield School". Springfield.oxon.sch.uk. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Oxfordshire Community Churches". Occ.org.uk. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Education | Oxfordshire Community Churches". Occ.org.uk. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "St. Mary's Infant School". St-marys-witney.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "The Batt C of E Primary School". Thebattschool.org.uk. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ The Blake School Archived 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Primary School". Our-lady-of-lourdes.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Madley Park Community Primary School". Madleybrook.org. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Queen's Dyke Primary School Archived 27 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Tower Hill Community Primary School". Tower-hill.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ West Witney Primary School Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Witney Community Primary School". Witney.oxon.sch.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Abingdon & Witney College". Abingdon-witney.ac.uk. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Hellenic League Premier Division Archived 15 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Witney and District Football". Witneyfootball.com. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Witney Rugby Football Club". Witneyrfc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ RFU Southern Counties North division
- ^ "Witney Hockey Club". Witneyhockey.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "England Hockey League Men's Conference East Division". Englandhockey.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ South Clubs' Women's Hockey League Archived 21 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Witney Swifts Cricket Club". Witneyswifts.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Oxfordshire Cricket Association". Oxfordshire Cricket Association. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- Facebook
- ^ "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Tories lose control of Oxfordshire County Council". BBC News. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Labour takes Witney and Chipping Norton seats from Conservatives". Witney Gazette. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ a b "West Oxfordshire District Council – Councillor information". Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Your Councillors". Witney Town Council. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ "Family tribute to storm death teenager". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "August 1990 Maximum". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Annual average maximum". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ ">25c Max Days". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "January 1982 Minimum". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Annual average minimum". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "1971-00 Frost average". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Annual average rainfall". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Annual average raindays". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Climate Normals 1991–2020". UKMO. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ Rice, Liam (22 December 2019). "Emma Appleton from Witney set to be star of new Netflix show The Witcher". Oxford Mail.
- ^ Peatfield, Susan (2022). Angels in Ealing. London: St Peter's Church Ealing.
Sources and further reading
- Jenkins, Stanley (2013). The Witney & Fairford Branch Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-1649-0.
- Jenkins, Stanley (2010). Witney: A History. Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-1-86077-620-5.
- Monk, William J (1894). History of Witney. Witney: Witney Gazette.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
- Townley, Simon C.; Baggs, A. P.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C. J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Williamson, Elizabeth; Yates, Margaret, eds. (2004). A History of the County of Oxford. ISBN 978-1-904356-25-7.
External links
- British History Online Witney entry
- Official Witney Town Council website
- Witney website – Witney website
- This is Witney website
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 761–762. .
- The Book Of Witney – by Charles and Joan Gott
- Witney & District Historical and Archaeological Society – Talks, articles and photo galleries relating to Witney and local area.
- Archival material relating to Witney listed at the UK National Archives