Marsh Mill

Marsh Mill was commissioned by local landowner Bold Fleetwood Hesketh of Rossall Hall and built in 1794 by Fylde millwright Ralph Slater. It was named after the marshy area in the north Fylde that was drained by Hesketh for the mill's construction. Slater was a well-known millwright in the area; he also built mills at Pilling and Clifton. The mill was initially used to grind different grades of flour. From the early 19th century, it was used to grind meal for farm animal feed. In the 19th century, the original chain and wheel winding gear was replaced with a four-bladed fantail. The original common sails were replaced with patent sails in 1896. The mill stopped working in the 1920s. From…

Marsh Mill is built of rendered brick; it is more than 70 ft tall and has five storeys. The tower tapers and it has plain square windows. There is a two-storey kiln house attached. The ground floor and first floor are storage areas and have drying rooms. The second floor is the meal floor; it contains corn-dressing machinery. At the second floor, there is an external wooden stage that encircles the tower and is supported by stone corbels at the first floor level. This staging gives access to the sails. The third floor is the stone floor, which contains four sets of millstones. The top floor is the dust floor. Like many Fylde windmills, the tower is topped with a boat-shaped wooden cap. It…