WITNEY’s famed wool trade could get a revival thanks to an Oxfordshire entrepreneur.

Richard Martin, whose Filkins business Cotswold Woollen Weavers makes and sells wool products using traditional techniques, plans to re-open the historic blanket hall at 100 High Street, transforming it into a new shop and wool gallery.

Witney was famous for its production of wool from the 18th century right up to the 1990s with woollen mills dotted across the town operated by firms such Charles Early and Co and William Smith and Co.

The wool hall was built in 1721 by the Witney Blanket Weavers’ Company, which was formed in 1711 to regulate the trade.

Blankets were made, measured, inspected and marked at the hall, but it closed in 1847 after the trade became dominated by just a few companies.

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Since then it has been a shop, a lemonade factory and even a home.

Of his plans to reopen the hall to the public, Mr Martin who has lived in Filkins since 1982, said: “If you asked anyone about Witney they would say ‘blankets’.

“We’re restoring it to a public building and there will be a shop for blankets and a wool exposition so people can feel they are part of the heritage.

“We don’t want it to be a museum.

“It will be more of a living, breathing building so people can experience what it was like at the time the wool trade was thriving.”

He added: “There will also be a pie shop because I love traditional pies and upstairs we’re hoping to hold events. At one time the blanket hall was the place in town where events were held.

“The announcement of the abolition of slavery was made here and dinners were held where the great and good would have got together.”

Refurbishment has taken a year and has included relaying a 120sq m stone floor, rewiring and re-plastering the entire building.

Mr Martin added: “Witney is a wonderful town.

“There’s hardly an empty shop here, but it’s never been on the visitor trail.

“Witney does need visitors as it expands.

“I hope this will help Witney find a place on the visitors’ market.”

Mr Martin said the second phase of the project could be to set up a small blanket-making business in the town.

He said: “The last wool business only closed about 10 years ago and there is a story of the workers there holding up a big sign saying ‘The End’.

“Our dream would be to restart the trade.”

The new blanket hall could open in the spring.