Unlike the northern mill towns, characterised by large groups of back to back brick terraced housing, most workers continued to live in small cottages in Witney and the surrounding villages. Cape Terrace, a long row of twenty two stone cottages, was built around 1865 by Bartlett's, a local firm of builders, for workers in the blanket mills.

In 1838, John Early gave evidence about Witney weavers' housing to a government inquiry into the lives and working conditions in the textile districts of England, saying 'Some of the houses are neat and comfortable but it is not a general term to be applied to them.’

The development of the woollen industry from numerous smaller workshops around Witney into a few large factories did lead to some small housing developments in the 19th century and there were other housing schemes aimed at providing the blanket workers with suitable accommodation, which carried on in a modest way until the 1960’s.