Melin Dol-rhyd

Melin Dol-rhyd is an 18th-century corn mill with 19th-century alterations, originally built with an integral miller’s house. The house was refronted around 1810. In the early 19th century, a masonry structure was added against the timber-framed east end to enclose the water wheel. A northeast wing, potentially built to house a drying kiln, is also likely a later addition. Milling is said to have continued until the 1950s.

The building is a light timber-framed structure with painted brick nogging and a slate roof, featuring two diagonally set axial stacks. The northeast wing and wheel house are constructed of rough, random rubble. The west-facing facade of the house is rendered. The building has a two-storey, L-shaped layout, with the miller's house forming a three-window range oriented north-south. The mill, almost as broad as the house, extends east-west, with further extensions against its east gable wall (the wheel house) and to the northeast (the kiln). The timber framing consists of main vertical posts with lighter horizontal struts forming panels. A light tie beam and diagonal strut truss are exposed in the north gable end. The miller's house has a central doorway with plain pilasters and panelled reveals within a porch, flanked by wide 16-pane sash windows. Similar windows are positioned above. Inserted casement windows are present in the north gable end. The north elevation of the mill includes an inserted entrance towards the left, alongside an earlier doorway. A loading door is situated to the upper right, with two hatches positioned to the upper left. Inserted small-paned casement windows are on each floor towards the centre. The northeast wing features a central plank door with a segmentally arched brick head. Two inserted or renewed upper windows are below the eaves, with brick blocking suggesting an earlier opening to the left. The eastern range encloses a large diameter undershot water wheel with wooden paddles, which is clearly visible from the south side. A low arched opening over the tail race is present on the north side, with the water running underneath a light railway and into the River Banwy.

The interior was inaccessible at the time of inspection, but it is reported to retain its machinery intact, including three pairs of stones, a sack hoist, bins, a kiln, and a flour grader with chutes. The water wheel, which replaced an earlier wooden one, was cast by the Welshpool Foundry. The mill contained three graded sets of grinding stones. It was in working order until after the Second World War, with only one set of stones being missing.