This volume comprises a history of the large west Oxfordshire town of Witney and its rural townships of Crawley, Curbridge, and Hailey, an area of over 7,000 acres derived from a large, late Anglo-Saxon estate. Witney, probably the site of the Anglo-Saxon estate centre, was redesigned as a planned `new town' in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century; from the seventeenth century it was widely known for its blanket industry, and became a centre of religious non-conformity. The town's origins, buildings, and physical development are fully discussed, together with its economic, social and religious history. The Windrush valley is also covered - an area of scattered woodland settlements and nucleated villages with open fields; early inclosure was probably in connection with the wool trade and Witney's cloth industry. Important sites discussed include the medieval Witney park, Caswell House, near the site of a deserted medieval settlement, and the bishop of Winchester's recently excavated `palace' at Witney.
SIMON TOWNLEY is editor, Victoria History of Oxford.
Reviews
This is microhistory at its best. The level of detail is probably unparalleled in other VCH volumes: for the rural areas, almost every farm seems to receive attention. [...]The maps and illustrations...are a notably strong feature of the volume. [...] This is a history of which, like the whole VCH enterprise, not just any county but any country should feel proud. AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW
Details
First Published: 11 Nov 2004
13 Digit ISBN: 9781904356257
Pages: 300
Size: 20.4 x 30.8
Binding: Hardback
Imprint: Victoria County History
Series:
Victoria County HistorySubject:
Modern HistoryBIC Class: HBLL
Details updated on 02 Sep 2010
