# Pilling

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Village in Lancashire, England

For other uses, see [Pilling (disambiguation)](/source/Pilling_(disambiguation)).

Human settlement in England

Pilling St John the Baptist's Church, Pilling Pilling Location in Wyre Borough Show map of the Borough of Wyre Pilling Location on the Fylde Show map of the Fylde Pilling Location on Morecambe Bay Show map of Morecambe Bay Pilling Location within Lancashire Show map of Lancashire Population 2,323 (2021) OS grid reference SD405485 • London 204 mi (329 km) SE Civil parish Pilling District Wyre Shire county Lancashire Region North West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town PRESTON Postcode district PR3 Dialling code 01253 Police Lancashire Fire Lancashire Ambulance North West UK Parliament Lancaster and Wyre List of places UK England Lancashire 53°55′44″N 2°54′18″W / 53.929°N 2.905°W / 53.929; -2.905

[Damside Windmill](/source/Damside_Windmill)

The [Pilling Pig](/source/Pilling_Pig) (0-6-0 locomotive)

Cocker's Dyke, Pilling Moss

**Pilling** is a village and [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish) within the [Wyre](/source/Borough_of_Wyre) borough of [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), England. It is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north-northeast of [Poulton-le-Fylde](/source/Poulton-le-Fylde), 9.4 miles (15.1 km) south-southwest of [Lancaster](/source/Lancaster%2C_Lancashire) and 14.5 miles (23.3 km) northwest of [Preston](/source/Preston%2C_Lancashire), in a part of [the Fylde](/source/The_Fylde) known as [Over Wyre](/source/Over_Wyre).

The civil parish of Pilling, which includes the localities of [Stake Pool](/source/Stake_Pool), [Scronkey](/source/Scronkey) and [Eagland Hill](/source/Eagland_Hill), had a total resident population of 1,739 in 2001,[1] increasing to 2,020 at the 2011 Census.[2] and increasing to 2.323 in 2021.[3] Populations in the 19th century ranged from 1,281 in 1851 to 1,572 in 1871.[4]

## Toponymy

[Eilert Ekwall](/source/Eilert_Ekwall) suggests the name is [Celtic](/source/Common_Brittonic), linking it with the [Welsh place-name](/source/Welsh_toponymy) element ["Pîl"](/source/Pil_(placename)) (rendered as Pyl in [Old English](/source/Old_English)). This toponymy would suggest the settlement started as a tidal inlet used as a harbour. Ekwall suggested the geography of Pilling may be "accurately described as a pill".

The name appears as *Pylin* in 1246 and, if the name is indeed Celtic in origin, the termination is almost certainly the same as the common Welsh diminutive suffix "-yn", giving the meaning of "small harbour or inlet".[5]

## History

Pilling is an ancient settlement, founded on what was essentially an "island" with the sea on one side and marsh on the others. Based on significant archeological findings, there is evidence of human activity within this area dating back to the [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) period.[6]

Some of the materials that went into the extension of the [Garstang railway](/source/The_Garstang_and_Knott_End_Railway) from [Pilling](/source/Pilling_railway_station) to [Knott End-on-Sea](/source/Knott_End-on-Sea_railway_station) came from Richard Fleetwood's first [charity school](/source/Charity_school) at [Preesall](/source/Preesall). The school had gradually become more and more dilapidated, so the contractors knocked it down and used the stones for the railway.

[Damside Windmill](/source/Damside_Windmill), on Taylors Lane, was built in 1808.[7]

Pilling's dialect was surveyed in 1976 as part of the *[Atlas Linguarum Europae](/source/Atlas_Linguarum_Europae)*.[8]

"Pilling in Bloom" was a competition held in 2004.[9]

## Geography

Pilling is an extensive mossland parish covering 3,387 hectares, situated on the southern corner of [Morecambe Bay](/source/Morecambe_Bay). Bus routes link Pilling to [Lancaster](/source/Lancaster%2C_Lancashire), [Knott End](/source/Knott_End) and [Fleetwood](/source/Fleetwood).

## Governance

Since 1974, Pilling has formed part of the [Wyre](/source/Borough_of_Wyre) borough of [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire) served by both Wyre Borough Council and [Lancashire County Council](/source/Lancashire_County_Council), having previously (from 1894) lain within the [Garstang](/source/Garstang) [Rural District](/source/Rural_District) of Lancashire.[10] Pilling has its own [Parish Council](/source/Parish_councils_in_England). The population of Pilling [electoral ward](/source/Wards_and_electoral_divisions_of_the_United_Kingdom) in 2011 was 2,293.[11] Pilling is within the constituency of [Lancaster and Wyre](/source/Lancaster_and_Wyre) which returned [Cat Smith](/source/Cat_Smith) [Labour Party (UK)](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) as M.P. in 2024.

## Places of interest

Pilling has two [pubs](/source/Public_house): The Elletson Arms in [Stakepool](/source/Stakepool) and The Golden Ball in the village. There is a community area in the village, equipped with a pathway to [Pilling Sands](/source/Pilling_Sands).

There are also several [churches](/source/Church_(building)), including St John the Baptist Church ([Church of England](/source/Church_of_England)) in the village, St William's Church ([Catholic](/source/Catholic)) in Stakepool and the Pilling [Methodist](/source/Methodist) Church in the village.

There are two primary [schools](/source/School): Pilling St John's Church of England Primary School[12] and St William's, both associated with the respective churches.

## Transport

As of March 2026[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pilling&action=edit) Stagecoach operates 2 routes in the village. The 88 to Knott-end-on-sea or Lancaster via Garstang or the 89 to Knott-end-on-sea or Lancaster. Both services operate every 2 hours.[13]

## Notable people

- [Ralph Slater](/source/Ralph_Slater) (1754–1830), an English millwright, ostensibly known for his windmills on [the Fylde](/source/The_Fylde)

## See also

- [Lancashire portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Lancashire)

- [Listed buildings in Pilling](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Pilling)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Parish headcount"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061210214612/http://www.lancashireparishcouncils.gov.uk/documents/information/Parish_headcount.pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.lancashireparishcouncils.gov.uk/documents/information/Parish_headcount.pdf) (PDF) on 10 December 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [UK Census](/source/2011_United_Kingdom_census) (2011). ["Local Area Report – Pilling Parish (E04005335)"](https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2011_ks/report?compare=E04005335). *Nomis*. [Office for National Statistics](/source/Office_for_National_Statistics_(United_Kingdom)). Retrieved 27 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["\[Map of parishes showing 2021 census data\]"](https://council.lancashire.gov.uk/documents/s219467/Appendix%20E.pdf) (PDF). *Lancashire County Council*. Retrieved 19 March 2026.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: url-status ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_url-status))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *Our Country Churches and Chapels*. A. Hewitson. 1872. p. 498.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Ekwall, Eilert (1972). [*The place names of Lancashire*](https://archive.org/stream/placenamesoflanc00ekwauoft/placenamesoflanc00ekwauoft_djvu.txt). Wakefield: E.P. Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780854098231](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780854098231).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Pilling Parish Council. ["Pilling: Introduction"](http://www.pillingparish.org.uk/). Retrieved 12 June 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-windmill_7-0)** [A Short History of Pilling Windmill : 1808–2007](http://www.pillingwindmill.co.uk/history.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120425071631/http://www.pillingwindmill.co.uk/history.htm) 25 April 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) accessed 16 October 2011

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Shorrocks, Graham (February 1976). ["Atlas Linguarum Europae Fieldwork Notes For Pilling, Lancashire, England"](https://archive.org/details/atlas-linguarum-europae-fieldwork-notes-for-pilling-lancashire-england). Retrieved 15 February 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Pilling Parish Council: Pilling in Bloom](http://www.pillingparish.org.uk/Pilling_in_Bloom.htm) accessed 16 October 2011

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** A vision of Britain through time. ["A vision of Garstang RD"](http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10000555). Retrieved 12 June 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Ward population 2011"](http://www.ukcensusdata.com/pilling-e05005400#sthash.0xhM7fl2.dpbs). Retrieved 6 June 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [Pilling-st-johns.lancs.sch.uk](http://www.pilling-st-johns.lancs.sch.uk/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Council, Lancashire County. ["Bus timetables"](https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-travel/public-transport/bus-timetables/). *Lancashire.gov.uk*. Retrieved 19 March 2026.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Pilling](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pilling).

- [Official parish website](http://www.pillingparish.org.uk/)

- [Pilling](http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Pilling/) at [GENUKI](/source/GENUKI)

- [Pilling St. John's Church of England Primary School](http://www.pilling-st-johns.lancs.sch.uk/)

- [St. William's Catholic Primary School](https://www.st-williams.lancs.sch.uk/)

- [Golden Ball Hotel](http://www.goldenballpilling.co.uk/)

v t e Geography of the Borough of Wyre Towns Fleetwood Garstang Poulton-le-Fylde Preesall Thornton-Cleveleys Thornton Cleveleys Villages Bilsborrow Bleasdale Bonds Bowgreave Cabus Calder Vale Carleton Catterall Claughton Churchtown Dolphinholme Eagland Hill Forton Great Eccleston Hambleton Hollins Lane Inskip Knott End-on-Sea Myerscough Nateby Oakenclough Out Rawcliffe Pilling Rossall St Michael's on Wyre Scorton Scronkey Shireshead Stake Pool Stalmine Winmarleigh Parishes Barnacre-with-Bonds Bleasdale Cabus Catterall Claughton Fleetwood Forton Garstang Great Eccleston Hambleton Inskip-with-Sowerby Kirkland Myerscough & Bilsborrow Nateby Nether Wyresdale Out Rawcliffe Pilling Preesall Stalmine-with-Staynall Upper Rawcliffe-with-Tarnacre Winmarleigh Topography Forest of Bowland Pilling Sands Wyre Estuary Country Park Hills Fair Snape Fell Parlick Waterways Hillylaid Pool Lancaster Canal R Brock R Calder R Wyre

Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Israel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pilling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.