Mill Farm (Felin Dolanog)

Cadw's description

Location

300 m east of St John's church, at north side of the minor road which passes through the farmyard. Stone-walled garden to west, fenced yard to east. The tailrace of the mill leat is visible further east.

History

The property was originally part of the Llwydiarth Estate, passing by marriage to the Wynns of Wynnstay. There were originally two units, this building, known as Ty Pandy (a fulling mill for cleaning and thickening homespun and woven flannel) to the north of the road and a separate corn mill to the south, sharing the leat from the adjacent Afon Efyrnwy for water power.

As a fulling mill this building is known to have had a waterwheel on its south-facing gable wall. The tailrace which returned water to the river further east is still traceable. The wheel was in existence in c.1800. Until the C20 tenter hooks were still to be seen attached to Ty Pandy and in an adjacent field. It appears that the fulling mill itself was the north/south range, and the east wing was the miller's cottage. The cottage part has been further extended east.

The fulling mill and its cottage later became the farmhouse of Mill Farm (or Dolanog Mill). The fulling mill appears to have been disused by c.1810 when it was taken over as a house by the Evans family, who worked the adjacent corn mill (south of the road). At first they employed a miller named Rhys, after whom an upper room of the old fulling mill was named 'lloft Rhys' and the adjacent orchard 'ardd Rhys'. In 1841 the occupant of the old fulling mill is recorded as David Roberts, and the miller of the nearby corn mill was named Hughes. William Evans became the corn miller in the mid C19, and the tenancy descended to the Jones family.

Mill Farm kept sheep and cattle in addition to the horses and donkeys used for mill transport, and had arable land. It was bought from the Wynnstay estate in 1923 by General Jackson.

Exterior

L shaped building of two storeys, consisting of a north/south range and an east wing; the roof of the wing is slightly lower but its eaves slightly higher. Modern brickwork lean-to addition at east.

The building is in axe-dressed uncoursed stone, painted white. The main north/south range has a timber boarded gable to north and a timber-boarded upper storey and gable to south. Slate roofs, partly turnerised, with tile ridges. The north/south range has a red brick mid chimney (off ridge), and there is a red brick end chimney to the east wing with adjacent chimney from the recent lean-to.

Small two- or three-light casement windows above and below; modern semi-glazed main door. Another modern semi-glazed door and a steel window in the later brick lean-to extension.

Interior

Interior not seen.

Reason for designation

A good survival of a fulling mill, indicative of the farm and cottage textile industry before the Industrial Revolution, and once part of a considerable local industrial property; now a farmhouse of distinctive industrial/vernacular character.