Marsh Mill Thornton · Lancashire · England

Marsh Mill stands at Thornton and is one of the most complete surviving tower windmills in north-west England. It was commissioned by Bold Fleetwood Hesketh of Rossall Hall and built in 1794 by Ralph Slater, the Fylde millwright also associated with the windmills at Pilling and Clifton. The mill was built on drained marshland and took its name from that landscape.

The building is a rendered brick tower mill, over 70 feet high and of five storeys, with a boat-shaped cap, stage, four patent sails, cast-iron windshaft, fantail winding, and four pairs of millstones. It was first used to grind different grades of flour, then from the early nineteenth century also ground meal for farm animal feed. During the nineteenth century the earlier winding gear was replaced by a fantail, and in 1896 the common sails were replaced by patent sails.

Marsh Mill ceased working in the 1920s. From 1928 to 1935 it was used as a café. In 1930 two women inspecting the mill as prospective purchasers died when the fantail staging collapsed. The mill was listed at Grade II* in 1950. Restoration by the Marsh Mill Preservation Society began in 1965 and continued for about twenty years. Further restoration completed in 1990 brought the machinery back to full working order. The mill is now a major restored landmark at Thornton.