Undated newspaper cutting from the 1960s
PLANS TO CONVERT IT INTO A HOUSE
Bradford man buys Pilling mill
THE 160-year-old Pilling Mill has been sold to a
Bradford businessman who is to convert it into a house. Some 65ft high, the building commands
a fine view of Morecambe Bay and the Fylde countryside and is one of the village's most
historic landmarks.
It has been in the Cookson family of Pilling, for generations and has been sold
privately by Mr C. Cookson, of nearby Windmill Farm, to 57-year-old Mr R. Baines, of
Lister-lane, Bradford, a partner in a cycle and toy business. A spur-of-the-moment decision led
to Mr Barnes buying the mill.
"FORMER GLORIES"
Interviewed on the telephone by an "Evening Gazette" reporter, Mr Baines said:
"Last Whitsun- tide, I was motoring past the mill with my wife Celia. I just happened to ask her
would she like to live in the mill. She said 'Yes,' I swung the car round and that was when
negotiations started."
Mr Baines said that renovating the mill Would present a challenge to him. "I hope to restore it to
some of its former glories," he said. He added that converting the building would be a long job,
taking about 18 months. "After that I hope to use it as a weekend and holiday home and later I will
probably retire to Pilling." Mr Baines is also hoping to Incorporate and blend some of the mill's
interior features his modernisation. A plaque will also be prepared tracing the mill's history.
"HARD WORK"
"The whole project is going to require a lot of hard work and ingenuity,"
commented Mr Baines. For about 80 years the mill was powered by the wind before being
modernised to steam. The General Strike of 1926 finally forced the mill's closure.
Mr Cookson said: "I am sorry to let the mill go. Mr Baines has said he will try
to keep the exterior of the building as near to the original as possible." Some of the rafters
in outhouses at Windmill Farm are made from the sails from the mill Part of the farm itself is a
portion of an old watermill which used to be sited there.
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