18th Century Revival

The political and economic upheavals of the late 17th century initiated the decline of the wool industry, and records show that by 1750 only two firms were producing cloth. Ten years later only one family, the Darbys, continued to employ Witham weavers in making bay cloth. The wool trade's final collapse was brought about by the Napoleonic Wars which cut off Essex from its markets in Spain and Portugal.

Although the town's population rose by only 450, the surrounding farms continued to prosper. The close proximity of the road to London, with its increasing traffic, began revitalise the town, and its inns became noted by travellers from London to the Eastern Counties. In 1711, two coaches a week linked London and Harwich, stopping overnight at Witham. By the middle of the century the Harwich coach was running daily while other services starting in Ipswich, Colchester and Norwich also used Witham as a stop over. Prices were relatively high - a coach journey from Witham to London in 1758 cost 12s inside and 6s outside.

The Blue Posts Inn, the site of No. 126 Newland Street, was particularly noted for its services, prompting one traveller to write: "Travellers frequently boast of the charms of an inn, but the Blue Posts at Witham is the best that I've seen. The rooms are so clean, and so delicious the diet, the servants all round so desirous to please, that you find yourself here so completely at ease." By the early 19th century there were 11 coaches calling at the town's inns, with as many as 1,500 horses being stabled overnight. Famous customers included the two sons of King George III.

The George, another popular inn, had a reputation in the 17th century for "admitting unlawful assemblies upon the Sabbath day, spending their time drinking, playing and the like at the time of divine service". It was also the centre of violent disputes in Newland Street between the towns people and Irish soldiers billeted locally. Its fortunes changed in the 18th century with the success of the passing coach trade, and by the 1780's the premises included "a spacious assembly room, large and small dining parlours, good bed chambers, wine vaults and beer cellars, a complete brewing office, stabling for upwards of 70 horses with good hay and granaries, coach house, a garden well stocked with every convenience that is fitting for an inn."