The Great Marton Windmill and the Oxford Hotel

Much of the information below came from the late Harold Monks and Philip Walsh, which is featured on the display boards facing Park Road at what was once known as Oxford Square.

The windmill, constructed of brick, was five storeys high, with a dome turned by a wheel and rope. One of the millers, Thomas Moore, is reputed to have carried out the first development of South Shore about 1819 on land bought by Alexander Moore from John Forshaw. The mill was repaired at intervals – in 1841 costing twenty four pounds, nine shillings and five pence – but ultimately fell into disuse and was demolished about 1900.

Circa 1870 © Philip Walsh

Circa 1891 © Blackpool Central Library

Circa 1911 © Blackpool & Fylde Historical Society

Early documentary evidence of the history of the mill site goes back to February 14th 1775, when, for the sum of £1,400, Thomas Jolly purchased ine corn windmill, dwelling house, drying kiln and granaries, stable and other outbuildings, together with two gardens. The hostelry, originally known as the Mill Inn, opened in the dwelling house in the 1840s. Between 1775 and 1893 the property changed hands several times. On May 11, 1876, Messrs Flitcroft, Grime and others became owners. About this time the dwelling house and inn was rebuilt, incorporating parts of the original building – compare the barn door, centre right, and the two doorways to the right on the image taken about 1870 with the later image taken around 1891. The new premises were renamed The Oxford, or were sometimes known as The Halfway House. The photograph above, taken circa 1911, shows these old doorways reconstructed.

Circa 1930s © Saidman Brothers

Sam Henry Thomas opened his motor garage by the Oxford Hotel about 1929. The below image dates from the mid-1930s. Known affectionately as “Square-dealing Old Sam Thomas”, he had various business interests in Blackpool. At his death aged 78 in 1942 he was said to have been one of the first people in Blackpool to have owned a motor car.