Melin-y-ddol

Melin-y-ddol is a late 18th-century, L-shaped mill and house complex situated alongside a river. The east-west range is taller and represents the mill, while the north-south range is the house. A further parallel range lies to the west of the mill, possibly a former cart shed. To the south of the house is a detached structure that incorporated an oven, formerly abutting the house’s south wall.

The building is constructed of random rubble masonry, using local shale of poor quality, and strengthened with timber noggings, many of which are reused. The walls are limewashed, except for the west side of the house which is rendered. The structure is built directly onto bedrock and has slate roofs. Two red brick chimneys are present on the house, one near each end.

The ‘E’ elevation, which fronts the river, combines the house and mill, initially built as a single entity. The gable wall of the mill has three windows, one on each storey, set within square-headed openings. The window frames are wooden, but the original glass has been lost. The house section features a tripartite wooden casement on the second floor, an iron casement with 12 panes on the first floor, and two iron casements with 16 panes each on the ground floor. The west side of the house has two first-floor windows with iron casements, containing 12 and 16 panes respectively. A doorway leads into the house, with a wooden planked door under a square head; a modern window sits to the south of the doorway. The south side of the mill has a first-floor wooden casement window, incorporating a three-pane casement on the west side and a wooden shutter on the east. Stable doors are present at the west end of the mill range, alongside a small, high-level hatch. The attached structure to the west has a door at the east end and cart/garage doors at the west end, which pass through an earlier segmental brick arch. The west end of this structure is in poor condition and has cement rendering. A timber dovecote is attached to the south gable of the house under the eaves, alongside evidence marking the former adjoining structure, which included the oven. The north elevation is of rough rubble masonry, showing signs of repair and alteration. A wooden camshaft associated with the former water wheel protrudes from a small round-headed opening with voussoirs at a low level. Although remains of the overshot waterwheel are absent, ruined masonry and a cobbled stone floor indicate a former wheel pit. Above the camshaft opening is a wooden planked hatch, and further west, a pair of round-headed openings, one above the other. A large concrete trough, approximately 10m wide, lies at the west end of the north elevation, fed from the same water race as a concrete cistern above. The trough, abutting the north elevation, contains metal valve machinery at its east end, which passes into the mill, along with sections of a large diameter metal pipe. In front of the trough is a Pelton wheel, comprising three cast iron gears, each approximately 1m in diameter and containing six spokes and numerous pairs of metal cups. Further outbuildings are located to the rear. The site was inaccessible at the time of inspection in October 1995.