Melin Uchaf (aka Melin Maelgwyn)

Cadw's description

Location

Located within a farm complex at the end of a single track lane S of the road running through Bryn Du.

History

Built in 1789; dated by a stone tablet above the doorway bearing the date and the initials OK R. Anglesey was once the main grain-producing area of NW Wales, and the exposed nature of the landscape made it ideal for wind-powered corn mills (particularly when water supplies were unreliable). Construction of the mills flourished from early C18 to early C19, with over 40 operating on the island by 1835. After the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846 the market was flooded by cheaper imported grain, which combined with the availability of more convenient sources of power led to the demise of the windmill; by the end of the First World War only a handful were still operating. There are the visible remains of 31 windmill towers on the island, 6 of which have been converted to houses and only 18 remain as full towers; only 2 retain their original machinery and 1 has been restored to working order.

Exterior

Full height, 4-storey windmill tower; circular in plan with slightly tapering walls of rubble masonry, partly rendered. Capped with corrugated iron. Doorways at ground and first floor. Rectangular windows at each storey.

Reason for designation

Listed as a substantially intact windmill tower, one of only 18 surviving on Anglesey. In early-mid C19 there were over 40 windmills operating on the island, grinding the large volumnes of corn then being produced. Melin Uchaf is of particular historic interest as one of the earliest windmills to still survive as a full tower, many of the earlier windmill towers now truncated, demolished or converted.