Melin Sguthan (also known as Union Mill)

Cadw's description

Location

Set back from the N side of a minor road leading off the A5(T) in Gaerwen, situated c100m N of the new church of St Michael.

History

Late C18 wind powered corn mill; the mill ceased working in 1913 and in 1917 was deliberately set on fire to facilitate the recovery of its metalwork for the war effort. 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 After the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846 the market was flooded by cheaper imported grain which, combined with the availability of more convenient sources of power, led to the demise of the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 plan, with slightly tapering walls of rubble masonry, originally rendered (some render remains). Roofless and capless with fragmentary remains of wood super-structure. Doorways at ground floor and rectangular windows at stages above, with segmental heads formed of roughly hewn voussoirs.

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 volumes of corn then being produced.