The area around the Fylde had been notable for the production of flax and hemp since the middle ages but this expanded considerably in the eighteenth century. Flax (or linen) was important for the production of sailcloth and the development of these industries was promoted by legislation which resulted in the taxing of imported cloth from 1712 and, from 1736, the requirement for all English ships to have English sails. This inevitably boosted areas such as Kirkham where there was an established infrastructure for such production.

Using a small port at Wardleys on the Wyre near Poulton, and later Fleetwood, merchants began to import flax from the Baltic to pass out to local dressers, spinners and weavers to produce coarse linen which was suitable for sailcloth. Eventually, these manufacturers established their own factories for this production. Flax production also resulted in some migration into Kirkham with Irish immigrants coming to work in the industry. This in turn led to the increase in the catholic population and ultimately the building of The Willows Catholic Church.

In the late eighteenth century, there were two major firms of merchants and makers of sailcloth, Hugh Hornby and Sons and Langton, Birley and Co. The Birley family became the leading flax manufacturer in Kirkham and along with the Hornby family and the Langtons were leading names in the area.

The boom time for the production of flax and linen for sail cloth occurred during the Napoleonic Wars and the periods of relative peace that followed meant there was less demand from the navy for these materials. However, at the same time, the cotton industry in Lancashire was beginning its great expansion. Initially, this was small-scale production on handlooms but some of the flax merchants of Kirkham picked up on these new opportunities and, for example, the Hornby Flax Mill, which had ceased production in 1824, was adapted for cotton production and reopened in 1850.

The sailcloth in Kirkham continued until 1895 when the Kirkham Flax Mill went into liquidation.