North Weir and Smoke Tower, Ynys Gorad Goch

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

Ynys Gorad Goch consists of two small islands, the larger one containing a house and the smaller a rectangular building with a smoke tower at one end; the two islands are linked by a stone causeway.

Two stone walls (the weirs) curve round the SE and NW sides of the islands, forming funnel-shaped areas into which fish are swept when the tide is flooding. The fish were retained in the traps by the force of the tide and by upward-sloping grilles situated across the narrow openings. When the tide fell, the water escaped through holes in the S wall, leaving the fish stranded in a small pool, where they were netted from stone walk-ways. Surmounting the wall is a concrete railing imitative of an earlier wooden railing. The present fish traps appear to be of early 19th century date, although fishing has been carried out on this site at least since the 16th century.

The smoke tower is probably of early 19th century date, and was used for smoking the catch. The tower is nearly square, set at the NW end of a rectangular building which has an extension (possibly of the mid 19th century) on the SW. The rectangular building measures 5.5 m by 3.8 m, with walls 0.5 m thick; it has a slate roof with modern timbers. There is one door in the SE gable and another in the SW side, leading into the extension. There is a window in the NE wall. The tower measures 1.8 m by 1.5 m, also with a slate roof, but with a hole in the top and a vent above, to let the smoke out. The extension is the full length of the rectangular building and about 2.7 m wide, with a two-seater privy at the W corner.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of post-medieval fish and production industries. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

The scheduled area comprises the smoke tower and building and three-quarters of the Anglesey (NW) weir, which was rebuilt in 1924.