Witney and District Museum

25/05/2026

St Mary’s Church Tour, discover the heart of historic Witney.

Join us for a guided tour of St Mary’s Church, a stunning medieval landmark at the heart of Witney. With roots dating back to the 12th century, this beautiful church is full of fascinating stories, hidden details, and centuries of history waiting to be explored.

Led by a knowledgeable local guide, the tour brings the building’s rich past to life; from its Norman beginnings to its Gothic grandeur and Victorian restorations. Along the way, you’ll uncover everything from ancient carvings and stained glass windows to curious local legends and surprising secrets tucked away in the architecture.

Whether you’re a history lover, a curious local, or just looking for something unique to do in Witney, this tour offers a fresh perspective on one of the town’s most treasured sites.

Meeting Point: St Mary’s Church, Church Green, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 4AW

Duration: 60-90 minutes

Limited spaces so booking essential. To book please contact the museum on:

email: [email protected]

Phone: 01993 775915

23/05/2026

🌟 Museum Explorer Session — This Half‑Term!

Looking for something to do this holiday? Come and join us for a **Museum Explorer Session** at Witney & District Museum.

Each session is a little different — so there’s always something new to find .

**Drop in, get curious and start exploring!**

📅 Wednesday 27 May
🕥 10:30am – 1pm
💷 Free entry
📍 Witney & District Museum, Gloucester Court Mews, High Street, Witney

23/05/2026

07/05/2026

Discover Saturdays are back!! We host a free family crafting session on the second Saturday of every month. Join us this Saturday to celebrate May with May pole making and paper flower crowns.

⏱ Drop in anytime between 10:30am and 1pm – this is a relaxed session, so feel free to come and go as you please.

Can’t make it? No worries! We will be hosting family activities the second Saturday of every month. Sign up to our newsletter or check out our website to stay up to date 🌝

Entry to the museum is free, but donations are warmly welcomed and help support our ongoing activities.

We’d love to see you there!

05/05/2026

Our Discover Saturdays events start this weekend the 9th May!

🌼 Celebrate Spring at Witney Museum!
Drop in between 10:30am–1pm for a relaxed, family‑friendly spring craft session inspired by Witney’s May traditions — garlands, colour, music and more.

✨ Make your own May Pole or flower headdress
✨ All ages welcome, all materials provided
✨ Free entry
(Children must be accompanied by an adult.)

Step into spring and get creative with us.

03/05/2026

We’ve been working with on our Community Cabinet – a space for community groups to share their stories of Witney, kindly funded by Museum Development South East.

We were really pleased to welcome to the museum, where they explored objects from their archive that reflect the history and story of Witney Pride.

Do pop in and take a look – it’s free to visit, and donations are always appreciated. It helps us continue working with the wider Witney community!

If you’re part of a group and would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a message or send us an email 💌

29/04/2026

We continue our journey through the blanket making process! The fleece has been sheared, cleaned and carded. The wool has been expertly spun and prepared in skeins. We have finally arrived at the stage where weaving can begin!

Pictured here is a bobbin and shuttle – these are tools used to create cloth on a loom. Yarn is wound onto a bobbin, which sits inside the shuttle. The shuttle carries the yarn back and forth across the loom, weaving it over and under the fixed warp threads. The working thread is called the weft, and it builds up the cloth as it passes through the warp.

There are different types of warp configurations and looms, which all give way to different designs, textures and drape. As a result of the industrialisation of textile manufacturing, most commercial fabric is now made by mechanised looms which automate much of the process.

Historically, Witney blanketeers (as the weavers of blankets were called) used manual shuttle looms, where the weft thread was carried through the warp by hand.

The photo included here shows a glimpse into Early’s weaving shed in Witney, capturing what weaving would have looked like in the late 19th and early 20th century – when innovations such as the flying shuttle and the rise of power looms transformed blanket production. Although still largely manual, certain automated processes made weaving much faster.

One of our interactive displays in the Bartlett Taylor Gallery is a new demonstration loom, reflecting Witney’s long history of weaving. Come and have a go on the loom and discover the difference between your warp and your weft!

Continuing on, from the poem 'A Concise Poem On...Shepton Mallet'

"The Weaver next doth warp and weave the chain,
Whilst Puss his cat stands mewing for a skaine;
But he, laborious with his hands and heeles.
Forgets his Cat and cries, Come boy with queles."

Sources:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Weaving”
Salzman, L. F., English Industries of the Middle Ages (1913), via Internet Archive.

Object number:
WIT:95025

26/04/2026

Now that Witney and District Museum has been open for nearly two weeks, we hope some of you have had the chance to visit and check out the new space we’ve worked so hard to create!

We wanted our displays to truly reflect the local heritage of Witney. In collaboration with , we implemented designs that echo the forms of looms and tenter racks – the wooden frames used to stretch woollen cloth that were once a staple of the local landscape.

Providing an innovative, practical and adaptable approach, Sam Brown () has transformed the Bartlett Taylor Gallery into something really special. As Sam puts it: "We've reimagined the Bartlett Taylor gallery with a modular furniture and storage system that volunteers can rearrange and update".

Bringing the vision to life through expert fabrication, has helped turn these ideas into reality.

We’re incredibly grateful for this opportunity, with huge thanks to the National Heritage Lottery Fund () and National Lottery players for making it all possible.

2D design:
3D design:
Fabrication:

19/04/2026

Step into a world of legends …
and craft a dragon of your very own 🐲✨

Join us at the Witney & District Museum for a free creative workshop full of colour, imagination, and family fun.

📅 Saturday 25 April 2026
⏰ 10.30am–1.00pm