1833
Tower mill built
A heritage photographic record states that North Leigh Windmill was built in 1833 by Joseph Shepherd, a baker and miller.
Site overview
North Leigh Windmill is a surviving stone tower corn mill on Park Road, North Leigh. It was built in the eighteenth century, with one heritage image record giving 1833 and naming Joseph Shepherd, a baker and miller, as builder. The mill had four common sails and a conical cap.
It was apparently in working order in 1907, then deteriorated before restoration to working condition in the 1930s. By 1979 it was again dilapidated. Later specialist records describe the tower as conserved but in poor repair.
The building was first listed as Grade II on 12 September 1955. The sources establish the tower-mill type, materials, working condition in 1907, twentieth-century restoration, and later decline, while detailed ownership and closure records remain limited.
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
North Leigh Windmill stands on Park Road at North Leigh. The supplied coordinates match the North Leigh tower mill rather than Witney. The mill was built as a stone tower corn mill.
One heritage photographic record states that it was built in 1833 by Joseph Shepherd, who was both a baker and a miller, while other heritage records classify it more broadly as an eighteenth-century stone windmill. The mill had four common sails and a conical cap. It was apparently still in working order in 1907, with its four sweeps in place.
It later deteriorated, but was restored to a working state during the 1930s. Photographic records from 1932, 1935, and 1969 document the mill during and after this period. By 1979 it had again become dilapidated.
Later specialist records describe the tower as conserved but in poor repair. The building was first listed as Grade II on 12 September 1955. The available evidence does not provide a complete miller sequence or a precise final working date, but it does establish the main structural character and several phases of working use, repair, and decline.
Timeline
1907
Mill in working order
The stone tower mill was apparently in working order with four sweeps.
1930–1939
Restored to working condition
The mill was restored to a working state during the 1930s.
1955
Listed building status recorded
North Leigh Windmill was first listed as a Grade II listed building.
1979
Dilapidated condition recorded
The mill was again in a dilapidated state by 1979.
Sources and records
Historic England National Heritage List for England entry: Windmill at SP 3865 1292
Heritage Gateway record: Windmill, North Leigh
Windmill World entry: North Leigh windmill, Oxfordshire
Heritage Search photographic record: Windmill at North Leigh, 1935
Mills Archive database entry: Tower mill, North Leigh
Heritage Gateway record: Windmill, North Leigh
Windmill World entry: North Leigh windmill, Oxfordshire
Heritage Search photographic record: Windmill at North Leigh, 1935
Mills Archive database entry: Tower mill, North Leigh