Springfield Park

Situation
A row of houses on the north side of Burford Road, Witney, just west of Witney Mill.

History
Witney Mills Housing Society was a non-profit making organisation launched and partially funded by Early's blanket making company in the 1920s. Its aim was to provide affordable housing for some of their employees and their families, although when they were completed some of the houses were let to non-blanket workers [1].

Twenty houses were built on a site facing the Burford Road near Witney Mill, a few of which were ready to be occupied by 1926. Each tenant at this time paid a weekly rent of 8 shillings and 6 pence. The society built eight slightly smaller houses nearby in 1929 and a government subsidy allowed the weekly rent for these to be set at 6 shillings and 6 pence [2].

The Springfield Oval development that lies next to Springfield Park was not related to the blanket industry, the Air Ministry built this in the 1930s for workers at the new Brize Norton aerodrome.

The activities of Witney Mills Housing Society were suspended during the Second World War but they went on develop the estate periodically when finances allowed and also built some bungalows for retired members of staff during the 1960s [3].

Clare Sumner