Melin Pen-y-gaer, aka Ty-nant Mill

Cadw's description

Location

The mill lies off the road to Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, running up the valley from the Holyhead Road at Hendre Arddwyfaen, and by a small stream.

History

Built in 1866, and worked until c1945.

Exterior

The mill is a rectangular 3-storey building built of rubble stone with large rubble quoins and a slate roof, monolithic stone lintels over openings. The overshot waterwheel was formerly located externally central to the long E side. Irregularly placed iron small-paned windows, and main lower floor entrance central to the W side and raised by steps to cart bed level; a pair of boarded doors with shaped iron hinges. A door to the stone floor is on the N gable end, at the raised ground level, and a corresponding one on the S gable end. The small stream running NE to SW past the S gable was diverted into a high level mill pond, with a delivery pipe parallel to the E face of the building, discharging through a launder over the wheel.

Interior

The main W door opens to the bin floor. The pit wheel and wallower drive, together with the vertical shaft, are missing, but bearings for a lay shaft survive. A straight-flight stair in the NE corner leads up to the stone floor. This retains three pairs of underdrift stones, two burrs and one French, with iron stone nuts with wooden teeth and tentering gear. The great spur wheel is also missing. A straight flight of wooden stair parallel to the W face leads up to the dust floor, with the sack hoist cylinder set in the roof. The roof is supported on 3 collar trusses, with an interrupted lower collar and queen struts. The soffit is fully torched.

Reason for designation

Included, despite the loss of some internal machinery, as a good example of a larger mid C19 corn mill, and of group value with the adjoining kiln house/roddyn.