Blackpool Mill stands on a picturesque reach of the Eastern Cleddau, less than a mile below Canaston Bridge.

Before the mill there had been an iron forge on the site since the beginning of the 16th century, but it closed in 1806 due to financial and transport difficulties. Being replaced in 1813 by a four-storey mill, alongside which was built an ornamental bridge across the river.

The mill had a 4.6m diameter mill wheel which was powered by water from the mill leet, which in turn was controlled by ten floodgates. During the Rebecca Riots of the 1840s these floodgates were destroyed as part of the widespread protest against social and economic conditions in rural Wales.

There were four pairs of millstones - one pair for maize, one pair for wheat and two pairs for barley.