- published: 31 Oct 2012
- views: 80258
Coordinates: 51°47′N 1°29′W / 51.78°N 1.49°W / 51.78; -1.49
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, 12 miles (19 km) west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.
The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'.
The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin was originally Norman. The north porch and north aisle were added in this style late in the 12th century, and survived a major rebuilding in about 1243. In this rebuilding the present chancel, transepts, tower and spire were added and the nave was remodelled, all in the Early English style. In the 14th century a number of side chapels and some of the present windows were added in the Decorated style. In the 15th century the south transept was extended and the present west window of the nave were added in the Perpendicular style. The tower has a peal of eight bells.
Holy Trinity parish church in Wood Green was built in 1849 in the Early English style. Both St. Mary the Virgin and Holy Trinity are now members of a single team parish.
William Nuelsen Witney (15 May 1915 – 17 March 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.
He directed many Westerns during his career, and is credited with devising the modern system of filming movie fight sequences in a series of carefully choreographed shots, which he patterned after the musical sequences of American director Busby Berkeley. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued until 1982.
Quentin Tarantino singles out Witney as one of his favorite directors, particularly for The Golden Stallion (1949), a Roy Rogers vehicle. Witney also directed Master of the World (1961) starring Vincent Price and Charles Bronson.