Lytham Windmill is situated on Lytham Green in the coastal town of

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous wi ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is of the type known as a

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 T ...

and was designed for grinding

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

and oats to make flour or

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains ...

. Since commercial milling on the site ceased in 1921 the mill has belonged to the town and is operated by Fylde Borough Council, who open it to the public during the summer. The mill also contains a museum run by the Lytham Heritage Trust which explains the history and practice of flour milling. The mill was built on Lytham marshes around 1805 on land leased by the local landowner and squire to miller Richard Cookson. Some of the mill's machinery, including a 150-year-old mainshaft of Baltic oak, was salvaged from other local mills. The

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

which now surrounds the mill was added later for safety reasons. The original smoky drying kiln, once adjacent to the mill, was moved to Kiln Street after pressure from well-to-do local residents in the growing town. The surrounding land was later levelled and grassed to form a ribbon green between the houses and the sea, in the middle of which stands the mill. In 1919 a high wind overcame the mill's braking mechanism and the sails spun out of control, causing the mill to be burnt out. Two years later the

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

, John T. Clifton, donated the gutted building to the town. The shell was restored, given a new cap, a set of mock sails and used variously as a cafe, as headquarters of Lytham Cruising Club, Motorboat Club and Sea Cadets and even as an Electricity Board sub-station. In 1951 the mill was designated a

grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. In 1989 it was totally restored by Fylde Borough Council and opened to the public.

History of the Mill

Windmills have featured in Lytham’s history for hundreds of years. In 1805 Richard Cookson sought and obtained a lease from the Squire for a plot of land on which to build a ‘windy milne’. Later, in 1860, when the prestigious houses in the area were being built the residents looked upon the Windmill as an “industrial nuisance”! On the 2nd January 1919, a tremendous gale turned the sales despite the powerful brake and sparks ignited the woodwork. The Windmill was quickly ravaged by fire, the interior being entirely gutted. The Windmill remained derelict until 1921, when it was given by the Squire to the Lytham Urban District Council. In 1989, the Windmill was restored by Fylde Borough Council and opened to the public. Lytham Windmill is run in partnership with Fylde Borough Council and Lytham Heritage Group.

References

External links

Lytham Windmill Museum
- official site {{Borough of Fylde buildings Windmills in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the Borough of Fylde Tower mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1805 Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Grade II listed windmills Museums in Lancashire Mill museums in England Lytham St Annes 1805 establishments in England

History of the Mill

See also

References

External links