Windmills and Mills in Thornton ...

Firstly I have added some information on Stanah House Farm to the website including 2 very good photos kindly donated by James.

I have also been browsing through my copy of a Victoria County History today which is a great source of info but about as far away from easy reading as it gets. I’ve decided many times to go through it and write down who owned what and when only to give up 10 minutes later as so many of the entries contradict each other. Its also very easy to get distracted .. I almost always start looking for one thing and end up somewhere else. Whilst doing just this I came across the following two entries:

"Alice widow of Alan de Singleton in 1245 arranged with William the son of Alan as to the succession of two ploughlands in Thornton, she acknowledging William’s right and receiving it for life, together with a third part of the fishery at Singleton. If Alice should not be able to grind in her mill of Thornton she might use that of Singleton free of multure. She released to William all her dower right and he gave her £10."

Seems like a good deal to me ! Now this first entry doesn’t actually use the term ‘windmill’ so it could be referring to either a wind, water or animal powered mill. The second entry is more specific though.

"Thomas son of Lawrence Travers in 1349 granted Robert de Pleasington a windmill and lands in Stanah in Thornton, Ribbleton, Ashton, Elswick and Ingol, and in default of issue to his other sons Lawrence, Edmund, Thomas, Roger, William and Richard."

Whether these are referring to the same mill or two separate mills I am not sure .. I did try and follow the family lines but in the end my eyes crossed! I wasn’t aware of any other windmills in Thornton prior to Marsh Mill and am almost certain they would have been wooden and probably on a much smaller scale but interesting none the less.

That’s another entry in my to do list then .. I'll save Haddle Moss for another day.

Also …

Mario Maps are now doing 1940’s and 1960's aerial photos which are grainy, extremely slow to load but good to see.

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Stannah Hill Farm ...

James posted on last nights quiz about his relatives at Stanah Hill Farm being Championship Lancashire cheese makers. Now here's the thing .. if he hadn't of bothered to come on here and post, that information would be lost. So if anybody is reading this and has any information .. even if they think it is not much PLEASE get in touch. It may not appear on the site straight away but I have files of information and they do eventually come together like a big jigsaw puzzle.

OK so now for the quiz ... drum roll

The answer was ...

The old mounting block outside 'Abbeystead' (the house) on Raikes Road.

In 1st place ... James
In 2nd place ... Mike
In 3rd place ... Brian

Just for fun ...

free tank game

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The Sunday Quiz ...

Firstly I forgot to say yesterday that I put a now picture on for the Sacred Heart Church Hall courtesy of John.


Now for the Quiz ... Where in Thornton am I ?














Answers here this week please ...

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The Fylde Country Life Museum ...

Now until recently when Brian from Wyre Archaeology brought this museum to my attention I didn't even know it existed and I bet I'm not the only one.












The museum is dedicated to the history of rural craft, industry and agriculture of the Fylde area and what a gem it is.

Around the central display area are individual exhibits of shops, houses and interesting artifacts.

Each exhibit is themed with everything from a telephone exchange to a cheese makers and the exhibits continue on the upper floor. It's a bit worrying though when you go to a museum and recognise a lot of the things on show!

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Situated at Farmer Parrs, the museum is currently looking for volunteers and if you are interested please contact John Higginson on 01253 790480.

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website

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On my Hols ...

Normal Service will resume next weekend. Wish me luck as going camping in Derbyshire so keep everthing crossed for the weather !!

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Sacred Heart Church Hall ...

I have had an email to tell me that the photo I posted yesterday is actually the Church Hall and not the school as I thought. Apparately the School was demolished and stood where the new apartments are on Crabtree Road. I have left the date as c1898 until I can do a bit more digging as it is around the time the church was built.

Don't forget it is the Wyre Archaeology meeting tonight at Farmer Parr's - kicking off between 7 and 7.30pm. Tonight is the AGM.

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Sunday Quiz .. but on a Tuesday !!

I hope you are all feeling refreshed after the easter break and all the nice weather.

I have put a new picture on the site in the gallery which shows the building of Sacred Heart School (now Madhatters) on Heys Street/ Crabtree Road. I couldn't quite place which angle it had been taken from but had a good look round whilst they were closed for Easter .. I didn't fancy being caught taking pictures round a childrens play area !!

Its taken from the back of the School on Crabtree as if you look closely at the arch over the door each section is made from 2 bricks end on instead of one brick lengthways. You can also just make out the space for 2 small windows behind the men. I didn't have the original image with me to take a comparison but will go back another day and at the moment am not sure of the date but a quick trip to the library should solve that.

Edit: The School Opened in September 1898 so building would most likely be the same.

Now for the Quiz ...

This week I am just doing a Yes/ No Quiz.
Try and be specific with the questions you ask and ask them in the comments section below this week. If you ask 'are you near water' I can't answer because I could be 3 miles away but still near water. If I can't answer you will see ***.

OK - clear as mud!

Where in Thornton am I?

Useful Site
Watch live freeview tv on your computer.

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Sunday Quiz ...

The Sunday quiz this week will be on Tuesday and henceforth for this week be know as the Tuesday night quiz - I is on holiday !

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The Little Cottage ...

There is a little cottage (aptly called The Little Cottage) round the corner from me on Fleetwood Road, right opposite the junction of Trunnah Road. It is impossibly small and looks quite old. Its up for sale at the moment but the agents details don't give an age for the property. Does anybody have any ideas ? Theres actually two of them together but I don't know the name for the other one.

I have heard a rumour that the weather is going to be kind to us this Bank Holiday weekend .. fingers crossed. Don't forget it is Thornton Farmers Market on Saturday and on Sunday there is a Craft Fair at Marsh Mill

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Evening All ...

Nearly forgot to post the answer for the quiz tonight as was busy pretending to know what I was doing on my computer. I have come to the conclusion that I don't and am switching it off for the night.

The answer to this weeks quiz is ...

Thornton Little Theatre

In 1st place .. Brian
In 2nd place .. Mike
In 3rd place Andy

I can't believe you all got it so quick !! I look all week for somewhere and everybody gets it almost straight away. Wait till next week. Think we might have a go at the yes or no game instead of a picture.

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Sunday Quizz ...

Well the weather is really spoiling us at the moment .. have been out and about for most of the day. Since I've been doing the weekly quiz I've noticed how little I actually know about the buildings of Thornton. Some of them have some really interesting architecture like this weeks offering, looked at it loads but never noticed this.

Where in Thornton am I ? ...



Please post your answers here as usual.















Hope you all had a great weekend too.

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Show and Tell ...

Its surprising what you have in your back garden and don't know.

We have had this strange stone in ours for over 20 years and has been used from everything from a door stop to a base for a rotary clothes dryer (sorry Brian). It turns out it is the top half of a Roman beehive quern stone as identified by our very own Brian from Wyre Archaeology. Now I don't think this one came from Thornton itself but there might be another one out there that did. So I wonder what else is lurking around in the gardens and sheds of Thornton .. have a mooch and let us know.

Don't forget the quiz tomorrow night folks.

Just for Fun ...
superstacker
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Bit of a quiet Spell ...

At the moment I am in the midst of launching my Go buzz to the nice folk of the Wyre and Fylde and it has been taking up quite a bit of my time .. apologies. This new site is the one where I hope to make a bit from advertising whilst Thornton Through Time is my hobby site. Once Go buzz is up and running and I have entered all the information it will be quite low maintenance and can get back to foraging for historical bits which is the fun bit.

I have reached the point in my history hunt where a trip to the Records Office is called for and that is not as easy as it sounds as most of the time you don't know what you are looking for. There are no magic records marked 'all you need to know about Thornton' its just the odd sentence here and there in the most unlikely places which you have to piece together. I wish it was available online so a journey to Preston could be avoided but hey ho.

I would also like to announce that I have been to the doctors and had my furry winter socks surgically removed ready for the summer.