Welcome to the Early’s of Witney Story.

For over 300 years our small Oxfordshire town of Witney was famous for its blankets, which we exported all over the World. The Witney Blanket Story now celebrates everything associated with the industry. Early’s of Witney has evolved as a brand but has kept the same fundamental principles – excellent quality, excellent comfort & excellent service. Our blankets are iconic and are made to last a lifetime. An Early’s Blanket was/is considered a true investment piece, many of today’s older generations still own an Early’s of Witney blanket, often generously received as wedding presents over 60 years ago! In fact, many Early’s of Witney Vintage pieces can be found online to this day – often selling for several times their retail value.

Early's of Witney celebrated 300 years of existence in 1969. A challenge was set to make a woollen blanket in Witney from the Cotswold sheep, have it sheared, the wool spun, woven, dyed and finished and sold in New York Macys department store in under 24 hours! One of these collectable blankets was presented to Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II.

The way of making of Witney blankets and blanketing progressively transformed from a small cottage industry where the master weavers employed people in their own homes to factory production where many processes were automated and people worked in shifts. One thing that didn’t change for hundreds of years though, was the use of 100% wool to make the blankets: a Witney blanket of whatever type or design would always have been made of wool. This only changed after the Second World War when the development of synthetic fibres and new textile technologies were adopted in the Witney industry. For the first time, a 'Witney blanket' might mean a product that was made up partly or entirely of man-made fibres and was not necessarily made on a traditional shuttle loom.

From this point onwards, our brand offering began to grow. Although our superb range of warm, comfortable & durable blankets are what Early’s is typically remembered for. As a brand, we are continuously introducing high-quality ranges to our stringent testing process, only the very best of which feature in our established collections. Whether you’re looking for luxurious crisp white Sheets, a Cashmere Throw blanket or a timeless woollen Blanket fit for a Queen - you’re sure to find it at Early’s of Witney.