Melin Maengwyn

Cadw's description

Location

Set back from the N side of the A5(T), c750m E of the new church of St Michael, Gaerwen.

History

Built in 1802. Successive generations the Williams family operated Melin Maengwyn but never owned the mill. Once part of the Plas Newydd estate, the mill was bought c1860 by Hugh Pritchard, a successful baker from Liverpool (the mill is still owned by his descendants). For the last few years of its working life the mill was operated with only 2 sails, additional power being provided by a steam traction engine. The mill finally ceased working just after the First World War; during a storm lightning struck the endless chain, fusing the metal, and strong winds then toppled the cap.

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 After the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846 the market was flooded by cheaper imported grain, which combined with the availability of more convenient sources of power led to the demise of the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 31windmill 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. Opposing doorways at ground floor and rectangular windows at stages above, with segmental heads formed of roughly hewn voussoirs; above the N doorway is a slate tablet inscribed with the date and with the initials W / H E, for H E Williams, the first of the Williams family to run Melin Maengwyn. There is also a large (gaping) hole in the NE side of the mill tower, created to allow the removal of the machinery.

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. Melin Maengwyn forms a prominent landmark and focal point within the village.