Northleach church

The origins of Northleach are thought to stretch back over 1,200 years. The Domesday Survey of 1086 mentions two mills at ‘Leece’, by which time the lands were held by the Abbey of St Peter in Gloucester.
As the wool trade began to develop in the Cotswolds, so the importance of the settlement began to grow. The town of Northleach came into existence in 1227 when Henry III granted the right of a weekly market every Wednesday, together with the right to hold a fair on the Feast of St Peter and the two days either side.