Reg Little on repair and refurbishment of one of the UK’s largest and finest stone mills

Superconducting magnets and pioneering technology are what most people would associate with the name Sir Martin Wood.

But a £350,000 project to restore a 250-year-old windmill is near completion thanks to the founder of Oxford Instruments, and his warm teenage memories of Great Haseley.

The stone tower windmill has dominated the countryside between the villages of Great Haseley and Great Milton in South Oxfordshire since the middle of the 18th century. But after decades of deterioration and neglect, it is being fully restored to its original working order as one of the UK’s largest and finest remaining stone mills.

The mill had been a source of fascination for the young Martin Wood, already showing signs of his engineering genius. When a teenager he had been given access to by its then owner, and had carefully studied the intricate wooden machinery still in good condition, but long ago made redundant by the advent of the internal combustion engine.

Unlike so many of the tower mills that had once stood as landmarks in and around English villages, the Great Haseley Windmill had not been demolished for its stone, largely thanks to its isolated position.

The impression it made on Sir Martin was long lasting. When the chance arose he acquired it in the 1950s, carrying out extensive repair work, and then seven years ago he became a pivotal figure in the Great Haseley Windmill Trust, which has so far raised £300,000 towards the mill’s full restoration.

On July 16, a key moment in the restoration work was reached when the new cap was hoisted by crane on top of the old mill. The sails still need to be added, with another £50,000 remaining to be raised, but the end is clearly in sight.

The project is being co-ordinated by John Alexander, a 71-year-old retired investment banker who lives in the village.

Mr Alexander said the project would restore the mill to exactly how it would have been towards the end of its working life, having ground corn for 150 years — preserving as much as possible of the original structure and replacing only parts either lost or too decayed to be reused.

A date stone exists, marked 1806, but it is thought that the mill had been constructed in 1760. It was a tower mill, with common sails, meaning an open wooden frame bearing the sail cloth. Ironwork dated 1889 suggests repairs at that time, involving winding gear and curb cogs but it is thought the mill came to the end of its working life sometime before the First World War.

Mr Alexander said: “Farmers would take corn to windmills, to have corn ground. Like others, the Great Haseley windmill fell into disuse with the invention of the internal combustion engine.

“It stands in a very dominant position and has remained a significant landmark in South Oxfordshire. Most towers were robbed of stone. Perhaps this survived because it was outside the village.”

Another smaller tower mill survived nearby at Wheatley, which underwent a major restoration over 30 years, completed four years ago. The same millwright, David Empringham has worked on both projects.

The Great Haseley Windmill was owned by the Muirhead family, who resided at Haseley Court.

“The family allowed Martin Wood to work there,” said Mr Alexander. “He was fascinated by the potential of restoring it. But he was then a teenager and recognised the scale of the project was then beyond him.”

The restoration work has involved putting in new floors, replacing beams and repointing the stone tower. Significant financial help came from the Oxfordshire Building Trust and the CPRE Oxfordshire Buildings Preservation Trust.

Debbie Dance, director of Oxford Preservation Trust, which also contributed, said: “It is a delight to see the Haseley Windmill being restored, as part of Oxfordshire’s history in the landscape. It stands alongside the main road between Stadhampton and the M40 motorway, so it can be enjoyed by many people. We are now looking forward to seeing the sails as the next and final stage and hope everyone will take any opportunity to go round when it is open, to see the wonderful interlay workings.

“The inside workings of the windmill have been restored and are a real treasure house of skill and engineering.”

Mr Alexander said that the windmill could be open to visitors from next year, an unmissable attraction from Oxfordshire’s pre-industrial past.