Page 69 - aprilmay pick west - web version

69
Charles Early was born in West End in 1824.
His family were already established blanket
makers in the town of Witney and Charles was
apprenticed to his father as soon as he was
old enough to work. Wanting to give him more
experience of the world, Charles was later sent
to turn his skills to his uncle’s blanket making
firm in London. It was there he met and married
Sarah Vanner, the daughter of a silk weaver and
merchant banker. His life remained in London
while he learnt all about the blanket trade, but he
was called back to Witney at the age of 26 when
he was needed to run the family business.
The mill he inherited was leased from the
Duke of Marlborough and he quickly started
implementing the modernising techniques
he had learnt in London. The company went
from strength to strength and he at first rented
out another mill before deciding to buy it. He
also bought the existing mill from the Duke
of Marlborough so that he could continue to
modernise without having to get permission
to change the structure of the building. His
modernising brought the first self-acting spinning
mules to New Mill and then he built a series of
new buildings so he could introduce power-
driven looms. But probably his biggest mark on
the town was when he installed a chimney at
Witney Mill in 1896. This chimney became the
town’s most notable landmark and was a mark
of the wealth the blanket industry had brought
to the town.
Charles himself lived with his family at Newland
House where he died in 1912. After his death, Early
blankets continued to be famous all over the
world and were still made in the town until the
company finally came to an end in 2002. The mill
was the last blanket making factory left in Witney
and the industry is now consigned to history.
Blue Plaque
Charles Early
Witney Mill