Site overview

Great Haseley Windmill, also known as Milton Common Mill, is a surviving tower corn mill at Great Haseley. It was built in 1760, although a date stone of 1806 has caused confusion in some accounts. The mill had common sails and two pairs of stones.

It was still in working order in the early twentieth century but had become almost derelict by 1925. The cap was repaired in the late 1970s, and a major restoration began in 2009. The structure was first listed as Grade II on 23 July 1970.

Later restoration work returned the mill to a more complete external form, with sails and fantail fitted in 2014. The available sources establish its construction, working condition, decline, listing, and restoration, but do not provide a full miller sequence.

Map

Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.

History

Great Haseley Windmill stands at Milton Common near Great Haseley. The supplied coordinates identify this mill rather than Wheatley. It was built in 1760 as a tower corn mill, although the building carries a date stone of 1806 that is recorded as misleading.

The mill had common sails and two pairs of stones. It remained in working order in the early twentieth century, showing that its wind-powered milling machinery survived into that period. By 1925 it had become almost derelict and partly overgrown with ivy.

The cap was repaired in the late 1970s, preserving an important part of the tower-mill structure. The mill was first listed as Grade II on 23 July 1970. Restoration began in 2009 and continued through the 2010s.

Photographic records show the ground floor, stone floor, bin floor, dust floor, and exterior during the restoration period. Sails and fantail were fitted in 2014, returning the mill to a much more complete external appearance. The sources do not provide a full account of ownership or every machinery component, but they document a clear sequence from eighteenth-century construction to twentieth-century decline and twenty-first-century restoration.

Timeline

1760

Tower mill built

Great Haseley Windmill was built as a tower corn mill.
1900–1910

Mill still working

The mill was recorded as being in working order in the early twentieth century.
1925

Mill almost derelict

By 1925 the mill was almost derelict and partly overgrown with ivy.
1970

Listed building status recorded

Haseley Windmill was first listed as a Grade II listed building.
1977–1979

Cap repaired

The cap was repaired in the late 1970s.
2009

Restoration began

A major restoration of the tower mill began in 2009.
2014

Sails and fantail fitted

Sails and a fantail were fitted during the restoration of the mill.

Sources and records

Windmill World entry: Great Haseley windmill, Oxfordshire
Historic England National Heritage List for England entry: Haseley Windmill
Historic England educational image record: Haseley Windmill, Great Haseley
Aston Rowant and Chilterns Spring Line Villages account: Meal Mills
Mills Archive database entry: Milton Common Mill, Great Haseley