Dick’s Windmill
Preface
I like puzzles, in fact I like them a lot. I set myself a challenge to fin out as much as possible about
As to the content of this article, I have added to details which have been accepted for many years, but I have had to be careful.
I thought that mills were built to grind cereal into flour, ignoring a vital secondary role that they played in protecting low-lying land. I forgot that they provided renewable energy, a role that declined with the age of steam. I also failed to realise that there were other terms for mills and millers in the Stuart era; mills were once known as milnes, and millers as milners.
One source I used included parish records, but as transcriptions of early periods are of variable quality, I turned to the Lancashire Online Parish Clerk Project – Parish of Poulton-le-Fylde, offering its transcriptions for free. This critically included, if recorded (the writing-down of these details being at the discretion of the parish clerk of the day), professions and abodes. These latter fields are omitted from many databases paid by suscription.
Other sources included online maps, turning to: https://www.maps.nls.uk, an extensive collection of historical maps provided for free by the National Library of Scotland.
Finally, I turned to the British Newspaper Archive, which includes free material, although additional material is through my subscription to Find My Past.
Turning to dates, on a technical note, until 1750 the English calendar started on Lady Day, 25th March, ending on 24th March in the next year; this was known as the Julian calendar. The current Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1750, with New Year’s Day on the first of January. Dates between 1st January and 24th March for years before 1750 are known as “Julian Dates”, and you may have to increase the year value by one to get the true year. This is a common problem for transcribers of early records.
Ian Upward, May 2025
Maps
The known facts
As can be seen from the maps, the mill was at a slight bend on the road between the towns of Carleton and Poulton, approximately at what is now 79 Poulton Road. Although the name Dick’s Mill appears on both the 1786 and 1844 maps, a much earlier occurrence is found in the parish records of 1691.
The earliest reference to it by its nickname was on 11th September 1691, almost two centuries before its demise. That day saw the baptism of Edward Thorneton (also Thornton), son of William Thorneton of “Dick’s Mill within Carleton”. William had married Elling Hull from “Trunall Infra Thorneton” on 5th November 1690. William was baptised on 7th July 1667 and was the son of Edward Thorneton (after whom his son was later named). William was buried at St. Chad’s on 14th November 1706, named as William Thornton but aged only 39. His occupation was given as “Millner”, the former term for miller.
We know the mill was taken over by 1691, and there is no suggestion of another miller between Hodgson and Thornton. However, the fact that William and Eling Hodgson named their son Richard may have been a nod to the mill’s title as “Dick’s Mill”.
Going back earlier
Having identified the site of the windmill as “Marsh-side” in Carleton, it may be possible, but hard, to identify earlier residents of that location.
Poulton has records dating back as far as 1591, providing a wealth of research material. An entry dated 16th November 1612 shows the baptism of William Hey, son of George Hey of Carlton. What looks like a squiggle has been transcribed as “Milner”, the obsolete form of miller, but I am unconvinced. Marsh-side in Carlton is specifically mentioned on 9th August 1618 when John, son of John Lawson was baptised. Despite there being no mention of a mill, we can be fairly sure of the right area, and there is a baptism for Agnes the daughter of Thomas Bamber on 4th October 1618, again shown as Marsh-side. Although these records are not for a mill, they show that Marsh-site was now a home to some families.
1
There are no further parish records until
and The construction of the Marsh Mill at Thornton in 1798, the Dick’s Windmill being at least a century older, may well have reduced the importance of the Carleton mill, which seems to have had a number of millers. Adverts for new occupants were quite common in our local newspapers in the nineteenth century, so perhaps it was unpopular as a family home.
Dick’s Windmill was damaged in storm and demolished in the 1880s, allowing the area to be developed for residential housing. However, it seems to have been part of the fabric of Carleton for a considerable period of time, and the existing houses in the area, such as number 74, commemorate Dick’s Mill.
Brief Introduction
Despite disappearing from the landscape in the 1880s, Dick’s Mill is still a talking point. It once stood proudly on the outskirts of Carleton as you approached Poulton, being for many years probably the most recognisable feature of Carleton’s landscape. It was much older than the Marsh Mill at Thornton, commissioned in 1798 by Bold Fleetwood Hesketh; he occupied Rossall Hall and was the future uncle to the founder of Fleetwood, Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood.
Starting from its earliest references, this article lists the life of the mill up to its demise.
Note that “Julian” dates have all been converted into the existing Gregorian calendar format, and a separate section is included at the end showing how the history was traced.
Maps
Dick’s Mill featured on both the first six-inch Ordnance Survey map of Carleton, dating from 1844, and Yates’ 1786 map of Lancashire. Another map that included the mill is the 1839 tithes map for Poulton, showing it owned by John Kirkham. These confirm the local nickname of Dick’s Mill.
The millers
The millers, also once known as millners or milners, needed to be versatile workers. Milling was what they did, but they were also engineers ready to fix machinery at short notice. Some of them even designed and built their mills, also once known as milnes. The flour they produced was key to feeding the community, but many mills of them doubled up as pumping devices to drain low-lying marshes subject to flooding; this was particularly the case in the Fylde. Their workplaces were also home to their families.
A few mills went on working into the twentieth century, but as the production of flour became more mechanised, many of the mills became derelict, and the old and sustainable method of production is now limited to just a few people who can still use and demonstrate these skills.
Circa 1612 – 1621
A transcription from the parish records when they were kept in Latin, shows the baptism on 16th November 1612 of William, son of George Hey of Carlton, shows the occupation of “Milner”, but may be incorrect, and is discounted for the purpose of this article.
Another transcription on 30th July 1621 shows the baptism of Margerie the daughter of George Fletcher of Pulton, described as Milne, but there is not enough to link this family to a mill at Carleton, even though the 1844 Ordnance Survey map lists the mill as both Dick’s Mill and as Poulton Mill.
Circa 1634 – Richard Wilde
The parish records become easier to follow, and more reliable, after they started writing in English rather than Latin. 16th March 1634 saw the baptism of Christopher, son of Richard Wilde. The abode is transcribed as Milne within Carleton, so Richard Wilde would have been its miller. We now have a very early date for Dick’s Mill and a miller called Richard. A daughter of Richard Wilde from Carleton named Jane was baptised on the 11th February 1638, and the location is clearly marked as the Milne (see Fig. 5). This supports the transcription in 1634, so we have strong evidence for a mill at Little Carleton occupied by Richard Wilde. Although we cannot be definite that this was Dick’s Mill, it is a strong possibility.
The period 1638-1652
Probably because the English Civil War started in 1642, we have no further parish records until 1653, when the story of Dick’ Mill can recommence.
Dick’s Mill in 1691
Jane, the daughter of William Hodgson and Eling Hey, was baptised on 16th July 1682. They lived at Marshside in Carleton. They were not the only residents of Marshside, and the record gives no idea of William’s calling. A sister to Jane named Elizabeth was baptised on 16th August 1690, and this time we learn that William was a miller. If we assume that Carleton’s Marshside only had one mill, we can identify the mill as Dick’s Mill. The baptisms in this family continued with a daughter named Elling on 20th February 1691
An earlier baptism at St. Chad’s on 9th May 1686 was for Elizabeth, the daughter of William Hodgson, of Marshside within Carleton. He was recorded as a miller, so predated William Thornton and is an earlier occupant of the mill, although our readers may know better. A marriage on 1st December 1678 is recorded at Stalmine between and their daughter Jane was baptised in 1682, by which time the family lived in Carleton. Further baptisms of their children were Richard in 1689, and Elling on 20th February 1690/1. The last date is recognised as a Julian date, so it fell in 1691.
