Life in the mills

Find out about the working lives of the Witney blanket makers.

Click on a link to find out more:
Child labour - unlike northern English textile industries, there seems to have been relatively little child labour employed in Witney.

Pay and conditions - the pay and terms of the blanket workers, from cottage industry to the factory system.

Health and safety - working conditions, accidents and hazards.

Training in the mills - the different methods of training workers over the years, from apprenticeships to educational courses.

Benefits - Witney blanket manufacturers were long recognised as being caring for their workers, find out about some of the benefits they provided.

Trade unions and strikes - trade unionism did not arrive in Witney until the 20th century, find out about its impact here.