July 19, 2002, was a sad day for Witney. This was the day that Early’s Witney Mill (pictured above), the last of the town’s famous blanket factories, closed its doors for the final time, bringing to an end an industry that had shaped the local economy for several hundred years. But now, two of its greatest entrepreneurs, Charles Early and William Smith, have been honoured with blue plaques, both unveiled in April by Conservative leader and Witney MP David Cameron (pictured left), and both providing a fitting tribute to this once-thriving industry.

In its heyday, the Witney blanket industry employed more than 3,000 people, and its blankets were recognised as the finest in England. Visiting Witney in the 17th century, historian Dr Plot noted that the Witney blankets were “esteemed so far beyond all others that this place has engrossed the whole trade of the nation in this commodity”. The establishment of an overseas trade in the 18th century was a further boost to the industry, especially when the Hudson’s Bay Trading Company in North America began placing regular orders.

The industry’s greatest period of prosperity was during the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution ushered in the advent of the railway and the invention of more sophisticated machinery. By this time the industry was dominated by the Collier, Marriott and Early families.

The Early family in Witney dates back to the late 17th century, and there were several branches of the family running different businesses in and around the town, often as serious rivals. It was left to Charles Early to rationalise these various operations, and by the end of the 19th century he had amalgamated all the Early firms into a single business, the main site of which was Witney Mill.

He was born in 1824 in West End, Witney, and was apprenticed to his father, John, as a blanket weaver when he was 15. At the age of just 27 he became a partner in his father’s firm, and increasingly took control of the business affairs and day-to-day running of the company.

Over the next few years he worked hard to expand the business, taking advantage of the new labour-saving machinery to improve efficiency and thereby increase production. One of the greatest inventions of the 19th century was the power loom, which speeded up operations considerably. By the time Charles Early inherited the family firm from his father in 1862, Witney Mill already boasted several power looms, and business was thriving.

In 1888, Charles bought the nearby Woodford Mill, making it part of the Witney Mill operation, and over the next decade he gradually acquired the New Mill site from Walter and Thomas Early, and two sites in the West End from Edward Early & Son and Henry Early.

By this time his main rival was William Smith & Co., whose founder had, ironically, learned his skills from Edward Early in the 1820s. William Smith was an orphan who was born in Witney and raised by his grandfather, Henry, a master Tucker in the blanket industry. He was educated at the Dame School in Bridge Street and the Bluecoat School in New Yatt Road, but his grandfather’s declining health meant that he had to leave at the age of eight and start working. The young William’s first job was as a bobbin winder, but it wasn’t long before his potential was spotted by Edward Early, who offered him a job as an errand boy for the princely sum of four shillings a week.

Before long he was in charge of the weighing and packaging of blankets, later noting that “the whole of the blanket department came into my hands for selection, classification and packaging, both for the home and foreign trade”.

Over the next few years Smith experimented in other trades, running first a mop making business and then a brewery — the latter despite being teetotal. Both businesses were successful, but by the 1850s he had sold off his assets from the brewery and returned to the blanket trade. His firm was based at Bridge Street Mill, and was the first to use the steam engine in the manufacture of blankets.

He continued to make mops, and became known as “the great map-maker of Bridge Street”. His business was particularly prosperous during the late 19th century, when he had regular orders from the Government to supply mops and blankets to the Royal Navy.

The 20th century saw the beginning of the blanket industry’s long decline, hastened to an untimely end by the growing popularity of the duvet, increased use of central heating and the closure of the railway in Witney in 1970. William Smith & Son underwent several mergers and takeovers from the 1920s onwards, but closed in 1975. Charles Early & Son merged with James Marriott & Son in 1960, and managed to survive a series of takeovers during the 1980s and 1990s, but finally succumbed on 19th July 2002, marking the end of a long, glorious era for Witney.