DescriptionBlackpool Mill is an imposing building constructed in 1813 on the site of a 17th century ironworks. It is a rendered four-storey and attic building with a pitched slate roof carried on four kingpost trusses, and symmetrical two-storey wings set back from the main south east frontage. The main central door had a canopy, now removed. Internally the boarded floors were carried on pine joists, the ground floor supported by stone pillars, the first, second and third floors by cast iron columns and the fourth floor by timber posts.
The mill was originally arranged round a central waterwheel, 4.5 metres diameter and 3.5 metres wide. The wheel was replaced by a turbine and the machinery renewed c1900 by Armfields, of the Vale of Avon Ironworks, Ringwood, Hampshire. The turbine drove four pairs of stones at first floor level, supported on a cast iron hurst frame. It remained in use until 1958, when electric drive was fitted. The mill was renovated and opened to the public as a tourist venue in 1968, but is currently closed.
Information from Cadw Listed Buildings database.
W J Crompton, RCAHMW, 13 August 2014.
