Witney's Remembrance service is on Sunday 8 November at the Church Green war memorial. Last year's timings, 10.50am service, road closures and parking.

Witney’s Remembrance Sunday service is on Sunday 8 November 2026 at the war memorial on Church Green. Witney Town Council organises it and lists the date on its what’s on page. It has not yet published this year’s timings, but its Remembrance page still carries the 2025 running order, and the shape of the morning is the same every year.

The quick answer

  • Sunday 8 November 2026, war memorial, Church Green, Witney.
  • Last year the parade stepped off at 10.45am, the service began at 10.50am and the two minutes’ silence was at 11am.
  • Roads closed from 10am until no later than 1pm in 2025. Expect the same.

Last year’s timings

This is the running order Witney Town Council published for 2025. Treat it as the guide for 2026 until the council updates it.

Time What happens
10am Road closures take effect
From about 10.30am Council staff hand out service sheets around Market Square and the Buttercross
10.45am Cadets and local organisations march to the war memorial
10.50am Service begins
11am Two minutes’ silence, then the laying of wreaths
11.30am Service ends; civic service follows at St Mary’s Church
By 1pm Road closures lifted

What happens at the memorial

The ministers and congregation of St Mary’s join the parade at the memorial. The short service includes the Last Post, the two minutes’ silence and Reveille, followed by the wreath laying. In 2025 the names of the wreath layers were read by pupils from Henry Box and Wood Green schools, and the wreath laying was coordinated by leaders of Witney’s Army and Air Cadets.

After the national anthem, many people go on to the civic service at St Mary’s Church with the Town Mayor. Everyone is welcome. Personal wreaths can be laid at the memorial once the main service is over.

The council puts the service sheet online and shows a QR code to it around Market Square and Church Green, to save paper.

Road closures and getting there

Last year roads around Church Green and the town centre closed at 10am and reopened by 1pm. During the closures, buses used temporary stops outside the Methodist Church in the High Street and in Welch Way. There was a first aid point beside the Buttercross and a lost children point under the Town Hall.

As at 24 September 2026 the council has not published this year’s closure notice; it usually appears in the week before. Our roadworks and travel page will carry it, and our parking in Witney page has the car parks within walking distance of Church Green.

Elsewhere in the district

  • Woodstock: in 2025 the town centre closed to traffic from 10am to 12.30pm, the parade started at 10.45am, with wreaths at the war memorial and a service at St Mary Magdalene Church, according to Woodstock Town Council. No parking was allowed in front of the memorial from 9am.
  • Chipping Norton: the town council also marks Armistice Day itself. In 2025 that was a gathering at the war memorial at 10.40am on Tuesday 11 November, its listing shows. This year 11 November is a Wednesday.

Still to be confirmed

  • Witney’s 2026 timings and closure notice, expected from the town council in late October or early November.
  • Carterton’s arrangements, which Carterton Town Council has not yet published for 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When is Remembrance Sunday 2026 in Witney? Sunday 8 November 2026, at the war memorial on Church Green.

What time does the Witney Remembrance service start? In 2025 the parade stepped off at 10.45am and the service began at 10.50am, with the silence at 11am. The council has not yet confirmed 2026 timings.

Are roads closed in Witney on Remembrance Sunday? Yes. In 2025 closures ran from 10am to no later than 1pm, and buses used temporary stops in the High Street and Welch Way.

Who organises it? Witney Town Council, with St Mary’s Church, the Royal British Legion and the town’s cadets.

Sources