WITNEY, a parish in the hundred of BAMPTON, county of OXFORD, comprising the market-town of Witney, the chapelry of Hailey, and the hamlets of Crawley and Curbridge, and containing 4784 inhabitants, of which number, 2827 are in the town of Witney, 11 miles (W. by N.) from Oxford, and 65 (W. N. W.) from London. This place, anciently called Whitteney, was a town 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 the cathedral church of that city, in vindication of her innocence of a charge of incontinence. In the 5th of Edward II. it was made a borough, and returned two members to parliament, from which it was released, on petition of the inhabitants, in the 33rd of Edward III. The town is pleasantly situated on the river Windrush, over which a neat and substantial stone bridge of three arches was erected in 1822, and on the high road from London to Cheltenham and Gloucester; it consists principally of two streets, containing neat well-built houses, and has a clean and respectable appearance: the environs are pleasant, and the ground in the vicinity is agreeably varied with hill and dale. Witney has long been celebrated for its staple manufacture of blankets, which have been invariably regarded as superior, both in texture and colour, to all others: the latter quality is, perhaps, attributable to the peculiar properties of the water of the Windrush. The blanket-weavers of the town, and within twenty miles of it, were incorporated in the reign of Queen Anne, under the designation of "the Master, Assistants, Wardens, and Commonalty of the Blanket-Weavers of Witney, in Oxfordshire." At that time the manufacturers had one hundred and fifty looms in full operation, affording employment to more than three thousand persons, and consuming weekly about one thousand packs of wool. The charter continued in force for some years, and under its provisions the company enacted laws for the regulation of the trade 5 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 is about two thousand, and the annual consumption of wool about six thousand packs. Rough coatings, tilting for barges and wagons, and felting for paper-makers, are made also to a considerable extent: the glove trade affords employment to a small number of persons; and wool-stapling, as connected with the manufactures of the town, is carried on extensively; there is also a considerable trade in malt. The market is on Thursday j and the fairs are on the Tuesday in Easter week, Holy Thursday, July 10th, the Thursday after the 8th of Sept., the Thursday before the 10th of October, and 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 for it, held annually; a court baron is held twice in the year by the Duke of Marlborough, as lessee under the Bishop of Winchester. 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) and the market cross, in High-street, was erected in 1683, and repaired in 1811. The living comprises a rectory and a vicarage, united, in the 9th of Charles I., into one benefice, by the designation of the rectory of Witney, with a reservation of the dues and fees of each, as if separate; it is in the archdeaconry and diocese of Oxford, the former rated in the king's books at £47. 9.4., and the latter at £9. 12. 6., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious and elegant cruciform structure, in the early and decorated styles of English architecture, with a 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 finely pointed arches, and is lighted by a range of clerestory win dows of the later style: the transepts are large, and the northern, 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 of architecture, and is lighted with windows of delicate tracery: there are several monumental effigies in the transepts, and many ancient tombs in various parts of the church, and in the chancel is a piscina of elegant design. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. The free grammar school, in Church Green, was founded, under an act of parliament, in 1663, by Henry Box, Esq., a native of this town, and citizen of London, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £63 on an estate at Longworth, in Berkshire. It is under the direction of the Grocers' Company, who are trustees, and the control of the Provost and four senior Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford, as visitors; andis conductedby a principal and a subwho must be natives of Witney. The buildings comprise a spacious school-room, with a library, dwelling-house 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 instructing, clothing, and apprenticing the sons of journeymen weavers of Witney and Hailey: there are at present ten scholars from the former, and five from the latter place, who are clothed every year, and with each of whom an apprentice fee of £15 is given, on leaving the school. The same benefactor erected almshouses for six widows of blanket-weavers, and endowed them with lands producing an income of about £85 per annum; the inmates have each two apartments, a garden, and a weekly allowance of four shillings. Mr. William Blake, of the parish of Coggs, in 1693, endowed a school here with £6 per annum, which is paid to a mistress for teaching thirty girls; and a National school, in which eighty boys and seventy girls are instructed, is supported b'y subscription. Some ancient almshouses, on Church Green, were taken down, and six substantial houses erected, in 1795, by the feoffees of the charity estates: these houses are at present let to tenants, and the rents are distributed among the poor. Six neat almshouses for aged and unmarried women were erected, in 1828, by Mr. Townsend of London. There are also several charitable bequests for distribution among the poor of the parish. The Roman Akeman-street passes near the town.