Market Place and Church Green

Situation
In the centre of Witney, between St Mary's Church to the south and the narrowing of the High Street to the north.

History

Church Green looking north from the church.

The Market Place (including the area now known as Church Green) was first laid out by Bishop Peter des Roches in the 13th century, Witney had a weekly market and two annual fairs from this time. Rows of permanent 'shambles' or shops (many of them butchers' shops) were built on the area during the Medieval period. Later, from the 16th century onwards many market stalls sited here were just temporary structures that were erected and removed on market days [1].

Sheep and other livestock were bought and sold here for hundreds of year up until the 1960s. They were herded into temporary pens made from wooden hurdles so that prospective buyers could view the goods before sale.

Clare Sumner