Lytham Windmill Lytham · Lancashire · England

Lytham Windmill stands on Lytham Green, between the town and the Ribble estuary. The present windmill was built in 1805 on Lytham Marsh after Richard Cookson obtained a lease from the squire for a plot of land on which to build a windmill. It was a Fylde tower mill used for grinding wheat and oats into flour and bran, with a boat-shaped cap typical of Lancashire coastal tower mills. The mill and its associated kiln formed part of the working edge of the growing town, though later nineteenth-century residential development made the industrial use increasingly conspicuous on the seafront.

On 2 January 1919 a gale overcame the brake, the sails ran out of control, and sparks ignited the woodwork. The fire gutted the interior and ended its working life. In 1921 the squire, John T. Clifton, gave the burnt-out shell to Lytham Urban District Council. The tower was restored externally, fitted with a new cap and mock sails, and later served several uses, including café, club headquarters, Sea Cadets accommodation, and electricity-board substation.

Lytham Windmill was listed at Grade II in 1951. Fylde Borough Council restored it fully in 1989, and Lytham Heritage Group established the museum. The restored tower mill remains one of Lytham's best-known landmarks and a public interpretation site for local milling history.