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The sails and millstones of Lytham's windmill could be turning again by summer 2014 in a £500,000-plus plan to upgrade it into a working museum. The famous windmill and the former RNLI boathouse will both be refurbished and modernised in a Lytham Heritage Group project that aims to more than double visitor numbers to approximately 60,000 per year.
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.