Please visit Cotswold Woollen Weavers' historic woollen-mill:
The smell of wool oil and the clack of the shuttles welcome visitors
who tour our traditional 18th century woollen-mill set in the beautiful English Cotswolds
- Watch age-old craft skills turning fleece into fabric, amid the clatter of our old
spinning frames and weaving looms.
(If you can't visit our mill - follow a virtual tour of our mill now)
- Find out all about Wool and Weaving in the Cotswolds in our museum
- Visit our large Mill-shop for garments, rugs, knitwear and accessories...
...all in beautiful Pure New Wool and natural silk & wool blends
(If you can't visit our mill - take a look at our SHOP ON-LINE now)
- Rest a while in our coffee-shop, and watch the world go by
- Explore the ancient and tranquil village of Filkins - with its two splendid country churches
Wool & Weaving lies at the heart of the History of the Cotswolds
Y
ou don't have to spend long in West Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds before you discover the
influence of Wool. In Witney the monuments to the long-famous blanket trade are all about you and
in the valleys around Stroud there are still the remains of the dozens of mills which dipped their
water-wheels in the fast flowing rivers.
But the sheep has ruled here for even longer. 500 years ago great flocks of Cotswold sheep
roamed the hills, and their fleece was exported all over Europe. The medieval wool merchants grew
rich and built their wool churches like Burford and Northleach.
Wool tax paid the ransom of King Richard the Lionheart captured during the crusades, and to
this day the Lord Chancellor sits in parliament on a woolsack to mark the historical importance of
the wool trade.
Even Sir Richard Dick Whttington was a Cotswold wool merchant as well as Lord Mayor of
London and well known cat lover!
No wonder the Cotswold sheep was known as The Lion of the Cotswolds.
Nowadays there are fewer sheep on the Cotswold hills, but in Filkins, between Burford and
Lechlade, the tradition of fine woollens continues. Cotswold Woollen Weavers manufacture a wide
range of woollen cloths, garments, knitwear, rugs and accessories. The past comes alive as visitors
are welcomed by the the clack of the loom-shuttles, and the evocative smell of wool oil.
If you want genuine Cotswold woollens, Cotswold Woollen Weavers is the only place to
come.