Former kiln house at Tan-y-bwlch mill

Cadw's description

Location

Set alongside the NW side of the A487(T) in the centre of the small hamlet of Tan-y-bwlch. Directly to NE of the former mill and mill house.

History

Mid to late C19 kiln house. The mill and kiln house were not marked on the tithe map of the parish, 1840, though agricultural buildings may not have been annotated and these formed ancillary buildings to the Tan-y-bwlch estate, at that time owned and occupied by Louisa Jane Oakeley. They are known to have been in place and working, with power derived from the millpond above, before Llyn Mair was created in the 1880s.
William Gruffyd Oakeley (1790-1835) was only 21 when he inherited the Plas Tan-y-bwlch estate and set about an ambitious programme of improving the estate. This entailed new building in the village of Maentwrog and rebuilding or improving the existing buildings. In order to do so he opened a quarry near Gelli Grin from which was quarried the large lengths of brown stone present in so many of the village buildings. The buildings probably utilised Gelli Grin stone, but may have been built after William Gruffydd's time.

Exterior

Lofted kiln house built of coursed local stone; slate roof with vent in front (SE) pitch. The range has a round headed doorway raised by an external flight of stone steps at the far right end of the SE lateral wall; set in a gabled half dormer that breaks the eaves line. There is a small round-headed opening in the centre of the L (SW) gable and a circular pitching hole in the apex above.

Interior

The interior was not inspected at the time of the survey (June/July 2003).

Reason for designation

Included as a little altered C19 kiln house that forms a group with the adjacent mill and mill house at Tan-y-bwlch.