Welcome to Witney Loom

The river Windrush winds its way through Witney and beyond; it not only watered the sheep and town, but also provided the secret to the Witney blanket makers. The lime-rich river water shrunk the cloth so much that the blankets required pounding and stretching after washing to recover their shape and size – and this fulling and tentering lead to the soft full and fluffy blankets unique to Witney.

The Point Blankets of Witney were the staple of trade for English traders as they explored the new countries and continents around the world. The points or thin black parallel lines on Witney blankets are a marker of the blanket quality and weight – an early barcode. Most particularly associated with Canada and the Americas, the excellent soft but hardy Witney Point blankets were a natural preference for all those facing the rigorous winters there. Witney Point blankets were striped in colours originally as length markers for cutting (as the blankets were and are woven in lengths called pieces). The colours soon became identifiable marks of origin and type – with the Queen Anne colours of red/pink, green, yellow and black, becoming a favourite around the world.

In 1711 the genuine provenance of Witney blankets became protected by the Royal Charter, granted by Queen Anne to the Witney Blanket Makers Company. The Charter sets out the required qualities and locality or manufacture to entitle the use of the Witney Blanket name. The charter has been enforced by court cases since then in the UK and overseas to protect the weavers and their clients from counterfeit. Witney blanket makers have enjoyed the Royal Warrant of several Monarchs and the presenting of the King and Queen's blankets to the serving Monarch is part of the tradition of British regal ceremony.