Factory Llewenan

Cadw's description

Location

Former corn-mill and later woollen mill, located to the west of the northern end of Llyn Llywenan, on the north side of a minor road.

History

The building is of two phases; to the NW is the original corn mill, dating from the late C18 or early C19. The mill is recorded in a survey of the Presaddfed and Dronwy Estate (dated 1808), as the property of Sir John Bulkeley. The accompanying map shows the corn mill with a kiln in the field to the S (not extant), fed by a leat from the E, with the outflow running SW 300m into a pool behind Pandy Llewenan. The corn-mill was taken over c1900-5 by the owner of Pandy Llewenan with the intention of expanding the existing factory. The building was extended to the rear (NW) with a single storey building to house a new self-acting mule, bought from nearby Pandy Traban (although originally from Yorkshire). The mill was used for spinning wool, which was then woven, fulled and dyed at Pandy Llewenan. In the early C20 the mill produced woollen material for local use, particularly heavy protective clothing for farm workers. In 1940 the mill was bought by the present owner and began producing tweed for fashion garments and sports jackets, when the mill was known as the 'Anglesey Tweed Mill'. The mill was the last woollen mill to work on Anglesey, closing down in 1955. Afterwards electicity was installed to power the machinery, and the mill was to become a privately-owned industrial museum. Unfortunately, most of the machinery was removed by metal thieves shortly afterwards.

Exterior

The building is of two phases; the original building is a corn mill, to the NW, which was added to, forming an L-plan. The corn mill is two storeys, with random rubble walls and an old slate roof. The waterwheel was in a stone pit on the N gable wall. The ground floor has a door with rectangular fanlight to the right (S), with two windows to the left; the door and window to left have recessed gritstone rubble segmental voussoir arches. The central window was formerly a doorway, with iron rail lintel. Two windows to the first floor have wooden lintels and slate sills. Small window in gable (probably the former shaft-hole). The waterwheel pit is on the N gable. This has an overflow channel alongside from a stone-lined pond uphill; remains of a concrete sluice and wooden launder beams. Remains of old wooden shaft lying loose. The upper part of the mill, built to house a carding machine, is single storey with heavily over-pointed rubble walls and a slate roof. The uphill gable has a wide central doorway with segmental brick arch head, and there are two windows in the N wall facing the road.

Interior

The corn mill is of 2 storeys, the roof is of 4 bays, with 3 collar and tie-beam trusses of sawn timber. On the first floor, at the N end, is a twisting machine . The extension of 1900-5 is single storey, built upslope and with the floor level with the first floor of the corn mill. Roof of 4 bays with sawn kingpost roof trusses with angle struts running off the tie-beam. Along the entire N wall of the extension is a c1900, 60" ( 1.5m) carding machine with the maker's plate: 'CLIFFE & Co. PATENT / Longwood near Huddersfield'. A number of driveshafts and belt wheels also survive.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-preserved C19 corn mill, which was extended in the early C20 to become a woollen mill. The woollen mill formed part of an ambitious (though small-scale) integrated factory carrying out all major processes of woollen cloth production. The mill also retains a carding machine and other machinery.