A mill in the woods

The Mill gave the Village its Name: Melin y Coed - Mill in the Trees, or Mill in the Woods.
 Many people remember eating bread made from its flour.

 The mill dates from the 1700s and was in use until the first half of the twentieth century. It was built on the site of an earlier mill. In the 1700s Melin-y-Coed consisted of the mill, Mill Bank house, the seven cottages, Ty Newydd and the outlying farms, as well as Cyffdy Hall, the oldest building in the village, which dates back to 1596.

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The painting above shows the chapel and mill as they were in the year 1876 or thereabouts.
The mill pond and water wheel are visible on the western side of the mill building. The bridge is just the same.

In the picture above, the Cyffdy stream is visible through the trees.

The water that used to power the waterwheel has now been diverted away from the building.

The Mill processed corn for sale, and the by-products were sold to local farmers as cattle feed.

A small bakery stood across the lane on the land belonging to Mill Bank, the mill owner's house.

The bakery produced a traditional round Welsh loaf, two inches thick.

Local residents and visitors from those days still remember these loaves and going to the bakery to buy the bread.

 

The painting above shows Highgate cottage on the hilltop on the left

and the row of cottages near the mill which were numbered 1 to 7 in those

days, not named as they were later. A gap in the cottages was formed when

one cottage was burnt down. The cottages were owned by the mill owner and

rented to the workers as tied houses.

The above paintings of Melin-y-Coed in the old days have been made available to the Melin-y-Coed website by Wyn and Sylvia of Bryniog Isaf. Wyn's great grandfather owned the mill and lived at Mill Bank before it was divided into two dwellings.

 

Above: Another of the mill family's old paintings of the vicinity is shown above. Many thanks to Mrs Margaret Lloyd Roberts for use of her photograph of the painting, which is no longer in the area.

 

Imagine being able to take this photo from your upstairs window and turn it into a greetings card! This is what Melin-y-Coed looks like from one of the Mill windows.

 

Above: The Mill from Bethel

 

It could be a bend in the road. . .

 

. . . anywhere in the country, but in fact . . .

 

... it opens to reveal . . .

 

. . . The Mill.

 

The Mill, in its twenty first century persona.

 

This is where the flour for the whole district was once milled!

 

This helped turn the millstone . . .

 

. . . and the mill stream is now just part of a delightful garden.

MILLER, HARPMAKER, BOTANIST, FARMER, EXPORTER, IMPORTER - the Roberts family did it all!

Wyn's grandfather was a harp maker, and he exported harps to Ireland as well as importing oats from there.

Millers were not confined to one occupation or interest. Miller and farmer Richard Roberts, says local historian Pat Rowley, was a famous botanist. He owned Ty Ucha and the mill. He was born in 1744 and married Margaret Pritchard when he was 41 years old (1785). He died in 1817 and was buried in Llanrwst Church. Richard studied the habitats of plants in the parish, and was a deacon in the Methodist chapel. A book called "Faunula Grustensis" (1830) by Dr. John Williams describes the area, the fauna and flora and other characteristics of the Llanrwst district, and Williams praises Richard Roberts and credits him with fifteen plant records, twelve flowering plants and three ferns. The preface of this book says: "Here lived in this Parish a few years back, a natural genius for plants. This was Mr Richard Roberts of Melin y Coed who, with his son, Mr David Roberts, Surgeon, knew British Plants very well". This would certainly appear to be the case, as Dr David Roberts helped his father annotate W. Witherin's Botanical Arrangements.

Dr. John Williams himself had local connections, though he was born in Pentre'r Felin, Llansantffraid. His father was a miller, Cadwaladr Williams, whose older son, William, was a physician and apothecary at Abergele. John, who was born in 1801, was educated in Liverpool and apprenticed to William. He obtained his M.D. in Dublin. His passion was natural history, and in 1830 he published his work on the natural history of Llanrwst mentioned above, "Faunula Grustensis, An Outline of the Natural Contents of the Parish of Llanrwst". He began practising medicine in Corwen in 1832. In 1849 he went to California (when the gold rush was on) and returned to Wales in 1853 when his health was affected. He practised then in Froncysylltau and Wrexham, and died in 1859.

THE WILLLIAMS FAMILY IN THE CENSUS RECORD - 1841 AND 1851

In 1841 a certain John Williams, aged 40 was a miller in Melin y Coed, living with his wife Jane, 30, and children John, 8 and Elizabeth, 3.

In the next census of 1851 we find that John Williams, now 52, is still working as a Miller in the village. His wife is now listed as being 45 years old, John, 18, and Elizabeth, 13. The family history follows lower down after the census and other family history.

THE JONESES KEEPING UP THE MILLING IN 1861

In 1861 living at 9 Melin y Coed was Thomas Jones, unmarried, born in Llanrwst and aged 34, working as a Mill Carrier,

Living at 13 Melin y Coed was John Jones, aged 57, a Corn Miller born in Barmouth, Merioneth. His wife Catherine was aged 38, and born in Llanfrothen. Daughter Margaret, 19 and unmarried, was described as assisting in domestic purposes, she had been born in Ffestiniog; son Daniel aged 14 was "assisting in Mill" and had been born in Betws y Coed; and Granddaughter Anne Jones was aged 9, attending school, and had been born in Llanrwst.

THE ROBERTS FAMILY IN 1871

In 1871 the head of the family living in Ty Uchaf was Hugh Roberts aged 63, Cornfactor and Landowner (born in Llansannan). Wife Jane was local, aged 57. Mary Jane their daughter was unmarried at 26 and working as a housekeeper.

Edward Hughes, was working for them as a Servant and was unmarried at 21, a Miller from Ysgeifiog, Flintshire.

Michael Roberts of Llanrwst also worked for them as a Mill Carrier, and was unmarried at 18.

THE HUGHES FAMILY IN THE CENSUS RECORD - 1881, 1891 AND 1901

In 1881 the occupants of Ty Ucha were Owen HUGHES, 36, of Llanllechid, listed as a Corn & Flour Dealer Employing two Men and 1 Boy, his wife Mary J, 36, daughter Jane A. aged 6, who was at school, son Hugh O. aged 3, and Mary's mother Jane ROBERTS, a widow of 67, born in Llanrwst like her daughter and grandchildren and noted as a retired Miller. The employees were Mary A. Evans, 13, a domestic servant from Llanddewi, Daniel Williams, a 41 year old Miller from Henllan, and Lewis Davies, a 28 year old carter from Llansannan. This Daniel Williams is the son of the Williamses above.

Not far away in Sychbant in 1881 lived local Cadwaladr Evans and his wife Barbara, 67. 74 year old Cadwaladr was farming 2 acres, but had previously worked as a miller. Barbara was from Trefriw. Their unmarried son Owen, 34, worked as a stone quarryman. One might wonder whether Cadwaladr was a connection of the Evans family featured on the page ROOTS: EVANS. Edward Evans was born in nearby Ty Brith Isaf in 1734 and died in 1809. His wife was Lowri, and a Lowri Evans was buried in Capel Garmon on 9 October 1795; she had lived in Ffyrdd Gleision, and there were Evanses living there for a number of years. Their children were William, Evan, Elizabeth and Hugh. Hugh was born in Ty Brith Isaf in 1770 and married Ann. Their child was called Thomas Ellis Evans. Ellis was born in 1790, married Catherine (b. 1792), and moved a few miles north to Melin y Glyn, where he operated the mill.

In 1891 Ty Uchaf was still home to Owen Hughes, 45, of Llanllechid, listed as a corn merchant. He and his Llanrwst born wife Mary, 32, had four children living at home, all born in Melin y Coed; Jane Anne, 15, Hugh Owen, 12, R. Owen, 7, and 5 year old Mary Letitia. Their domestic servant was Elizabeth Williams, 23, of Llanrwst, and 51 year old widowed corn miller Daniel Williams of Trefnant, Henllan, was still part of the household. R. Owen and Mary Letitia spoke Welsh only, the others were bilingual.

Daniel's father in Henllan had also been a corn miller, and Daniel had a twin brother, Joseph, as well as a brother John, 7 years his senior, who worked at home and had been born in Llanrwst. So it looks as if the miller in 1851, John Williams, had moved to Henllan, and his son Daniel moved back after he had been widowed, likely to live and work with family or family acquaintances. John and Jane Williams' other children were Richard, Elizabeth, and Elinn (Ellen. Eleanor or Elinor). John and Jane are noted as having been born in Llanfairfechan, Caernarvonshire. The children, apart from John, were all born in Henllan. In 1871, John and Jane are 73 years of age, and living in Trefnant, Henllan, with Daniel who is married (though we don't have his wife's name) and working as a painter.

1891 CENSUS - HUGHES FAMILY IN MILL BANK

Owen Hughes, 55, miller and corn dealer, born in Llanllechid, acted as the census enumerator for the local area in the year 1891. He was now living at Mill Bank with his wife Mary Jane, 55, Llanrwst born like their children Jane Anne, 25, Robert Owen, 17, and Mary L, 15. Both Robert and Mary were themselves corn dealers. Rolant Jones, 51, from Llanddoget worked as an agricultural labourer. Rolant spoke Welsh, and Owen’s family spoke both languages

 

Above: Mill Bank

BACK TO THE WILLIAMS FAMILY, MILLERS IN MELIN Y COED AND HENLLAN

Michael Richardson, after visiting this site, wrote to us and said:

"My great-greatgrandmother was born at Trefnant (Henllan) and later moved with her family to Brookhouse near Denbigh where her father John Williams was the miller for some years. He and his wife Jane had a large family of which my great great grandmother was the youngest. Next to her in the family were twin boys Daniel and Joseph and I believe that this was the Daniel Williams mentioned on the webpage dealing with the 1891 census. I think that Daniel married in 1869 but was soon widowed and in 1871 was living with his retired parents who had by then returned to live in Trefnant. I have no details of his marriage, but there are records of a Daniel Williams marrying in Llanrwst in Q4 1865 and Q4 1869.

In 1881 and 1891 he seems to have been at Ty Uchaf and there is a death of a Daniel Williams in 1894.

It is possible that another brother Robert also became a miller and in 1871 was at Pont Tudor, Bodnant.

I have been trying to piece together the story of the various members of the Williams family and I wonder if you have any other information about Ty Uchaf and the mill which would confirm whether the Daniel Williams listed in 1891 is indeed the son of John Williams (born in Llanrwst around 1800) the miller at Brookhouse."

Michael also has more information about the Williams family:

John Williams (b ~ 1800) from Llanfairfechan married Jane Griffiths (b ~ 1799) from Llanrwst in or about 1820. There is a record of John Williams marrying Jane Griffiths at Henllan on 24 March 1820 .. which would suggest that they had both moved to the area before marrying. However, since their first 5 children were born in Llanrwst this may not be the correct marriage (although we know from birth certficates that Jane’s maiden name WAS Griffiths). The family must have moved to Trefnant about 1834 because the remaining 5 children, of whom Elinor (or Ellen) was the youngest, were born there.

The family lived at Bryn Hyfryd in Trefnant, and John is recorded as a tailor and draper in the 1841 census.

 

Above: Bryn Hyfryd, Trefnant.

Later in the 1840s they moved to Brookhouse and in the 1851 census John is listed as a corn dealer; by the time of the 1861 census they were at Brookhouse Mill.

 

Above: Brookhouse Mill, Denbigh.

Elinor married John Roberts, gamekeeper on the Lleweni estate, on 27 Jul 1861 at Capel Mawr in Denbigh and their daughter Jane was born at Lleweni Cottage (now Maes y Parc) on 11 Jan 1862. Then in 1863 (?) Ellen married William York, a labourer from Alconbury, Hunts. A Welsh quilt in my possession records that it was “given to the maternal grandmother of J A Walker, on the occasion of her wedding from Brook House, Denbigh” - but the wedding referred to may well have been that to John Roberts !

The 1861 census for Brook House – which is in the parish of Llanrhaeadr, unlike Denbigh town, which is in Henllan parish - lists the Williams family at Brook House Mill : John, 59, was a corn miller employing 3 men, his wife was 61 and from Llanrwst, Richard, 26 and single was a corn miller, Joseph, 17, was an engineer, Ellen was 17, and John Roberts of Llanrhaeadr was a carter.

In 1851, they were living at Brook House, but not at the mill, and John’s occupation was given as corn dealer. Also with them at that time were 3 further children : John aged 18 who had been born in Llanrwst, Elizabeth aged 13, and Joseph’s twin brother Daniel

So it seems that the family must have moved from Llanrwst to Henllan some time between 1833 and 1835. I then found them in the 1841 census records living at Bryn Hyfryd, Trefnant (in the parish of Henllan). At that time John’s occupation was given as tailor and draper and 4 older children were also listed : Mary, aged 18; Jane, aged 17 ( a dressmaker); Robert, aged 15 (a tailor) and Eliza, aged 12.

John Roberts (Jane York’s natural father) appears to have been the son of John and Ann Roberts, both born ca. 1802 (in Llanrhaiadr and Henllan respectively). In the 1841 census the family is living at Plas Clough Cottage, Henllan; in 1851 their address is given as Berllan Bach or Ty Coch) and in 1861 John and Ann were at Plas yn Green. Their son John was born ca. 1827 and seems to have been the eldest of at least 5 children.

In 1871 John and Ann were living at Brookhouse and their granddaughter Jane (age 7) was with them; at that time William and Ellen York were living in Suffolk! Jane Roberts York married Robert Walker at St. Paul’s, Manningham (Bradford) on 1 May 1887 and they lived in Leeds, where my grandfather James was born on 4 April 1889

This is a summary of the Williams family history as far as it is known:

John WILLIAMS (b. ~ 1800 Llanfairfechan) (d. 1870s ?? )

married 24 Mar 1820 Henllan (?)

Jane GRIFFITHS (b. ~ 1799 Llanrwst) (d. Q4 1887. St Asaph 11b 241)

1. MARY. b. ~1822. m. 1850 Shadrach Owen (1827 - 1899); 6 children of whom 3 married (Ellen, William and Jane)

2. JANE. b. ~ 1823. in 1841 (17) a dressmaker; may have married one of the Gwydyr Castle Wynnes ?

3. ROBERT. b. ~ 1825. nothing known post 1841. Several possibles in 1871 census, (one a corn miller at Pont Tudor, Bodnant)

4. ELIZA. b ~ 1829. m. 1848 David Jones (Q4 1848 St Asaph. 27 309) and had 7 children : John, Jane, Thomas, Robert, Elizabeth, Daniel and Ellenor. In 1861 David was railway porter, in 1871 a guard; d. 1870s. Eliza d. 1885. Son John joined the army and served in India

5. JOHN. b. ~ 1832. In 1851 employed at home. Then seems to have moved to Salford and married (1861 ?) Ellen Williams (?) ; 5 children

6. RICHARD. b. ~ 1834. married Hannah White in 1866 (widow with 4 children) and lived near Preston ; a further 6 children

7. ELIZABETH. b. ~ 1837. nothing post 1851 census (age 13, scholar)

(8. DANIEL. b. 27.1.1840. married (1869 ?); in 1871 with parents in Trefnant;

( 1881/91 miller at Ty Uchaf Melin y Coed Llanrwst; d 1894 ?

(

(9. JOSEPH. b. 27.1.1840. In 1861 engineer at Brookhouse Mill; d. 1869 ?

10. ELINOR. b. 1842. married (i) John Roberts (27.7.1861) and had daughter Jane

(ii) William York

Notes from my grandfather suggest that there may have been up to 15 children; I can trace only the ten listed above, others may have died in infancy.

Michael Richardson

To contact Michael, please write in the first instance c/o this website. Please enter clear details in the header to distinguish your email from masses of spam, which is deleted unread. Suggested header: MICHAEL RICHARDSON re WILLIAMS FAMILY MILLERS MYC The address is: mail @ melin-y-coed.co.uk (Close the spaces in the address line).

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A MILL FAMILY IN 1952

 

Jane Ann Roberts, Margaret Lloyd Roberts, Mary Aldwyth Hughes, and Baby June Lloyd Roberts.

 

William Mostyn Jones, Ellen Jane Jones at rear; Cadwaladr Lloyd Hughes, Margaret Lloyd Roberts, Mary Aldwyth Hughes and Baby June Lloyd Roberts.

The village was once called Hen Felin, Old Mill, as on the site of the present mill an older mill once stood. A survey taken of the area for a map in the early 1800s called the village "Pentref y Coed". Combining the two names, presumably, produced "Melin y Coed". Opposite the mill there was a building called Odin, where the ovens stood to bake the oats to take off the husk before grinding. The waste was used as pig food. Mill Bank was sold the same year as the mill (1968), as well as another two cottages now combined into one dwelling. Jane Ann Roberts used to collect the rents for those cottages, as well as the seven cottages in Glan Llyn Terrace, and put the money into a trust for Robert Roberts.

 

Above: Mill Bank in the old days.

 

Above: Ty Ucha in the old days.

 

Above: The mill is visible down the road from near the chapel grounds and bridge.

The mill stopped working in the 1950s and stood idle for decades. It was then converted into a dwelling.

 

In August 2008 MYC was delighted to receive this information from Mr Keith Roberts, who carried out major conversion work on the mill in the 1970s.

Hello Melin y Coed,

I stumbled on your website by chance whilst searching for another mill.

Fond memories of the village as I spent a number of months there whilst restoring the mill from its original working but dilapidated situation into a dwelling for the owner a Mr. Tecwyn William,s a quantity surveyor. I was a stonemason working at that time for a development company that Tecwyn was involved with and he asked me to take on the task of restoration.

A great deal of work was carried out, the original cast mill machinery workings were all dismantled, the mill wheel was far too corroded to be saved and was demolished, new floors and partitions erected to form the internal rooms, and all the fixtures and fittings installed to form quite a desirable residence.

I recall that when the works were in the early stages I was building a decorative stone wall, a mixture of granite and sandstone with fine joints raked out and as a cladding to an existing internal wall to the left (roadside elevation) of what was to become the lounge. The only means of access was the original wide timber stairs and an interested village local, an old chap, was in the habit of climbing those stairs and watching me at work. One day he uttered what to me were immortal words: "That new wall be nice when its plastered"

Masonry was removed from the front gable, steel beams (RSJ`s) inserted and new patio doors in place of the original single entry door, new windows for old and quite a number of new window situations were constructed which meant in most instances that a cavity probably twice the size of the finished opening developed due to the size of some of the existing granite boulders. All the external masonry was repointed which took several months, new boundary walls , new terraces were formed and new doorways to the rear. In the middle of the huge lounge sat the original millstone in its glory. It was work that I was extremely proud of! The year - I am not sure as my memory has faded but it was probably the early 1970`s.

At that time there was a retired stonemason living nearby who was 90 years of age and I was in the habit of visiting him occasionally for a natter in my lunch break. Before I left he presented me with a superb 16 lb. masonry splitting hammer which stood by me for the remaining years of my working life and in that time it never once had to be resharpened by a blacksmith. It had been passed down to him from his father. I have since passed it on to a young budding stonemason.

 

Another memory is of a huge salmon I witnessed languishing in the bath of a resident of the nearby council houses (won`t say which!). This salmon stretched the full length of the bath and its captor told me that after returning from a lunchtime drink at the pub he was leaning on the bridge which spans the mill stream and this salmon was resting in readiness for the next few leaps upstream. He snared it, temporarily deposited it in the bath away from the eyes and ears of any water bailiff around and the rest is his history! I used to watch the sea trout leaping up the series of falls upstream of the mill - a superb sight which in these days of overfishing and pollution is probably now non existent.

In conclusion, I believe that Tecwyn lived at the mill for a number of years and then emigrated to the then Rhodesia. I believe the mill lay unoccupied for a number of years after that time.

Keith Roberts.

www.byegones.co.uk

 

Part of the Mill garden.

Another stage in the life of the mill comes from Mr. Malcolm Davies (manxmoviesound.com), who said:

My wife Doreen and I found the Mill by chance thanks to a friend who lived at Nebo.

 

We lived in Saddleworth at the time and really had no intention of moving until Ian, who we were visiting, said "There's a lovely house down in Melin y Coed that's just right for you".

 

I have worked all my life in the film industry so it doesn't really matter where I live; we went down to see the mill and virtually bought it on the spot (1978). Six weeks later we moved in.

 

The place had been somewhat modernised but then the work began, renewing all the rotten floors and making it habitable to what we wanted. The landscaping took several months and we reclaimed all the land up to the river by utilising gabions which are wire baskets filled with stone.

 

In 1988 we moved back to Saddleworth and still live there although we have a place in Portugal as well.

I have nothing but happy memories of living in Wales and a lot of very happy memories of The Mill and the lovely people of Melin-y-Coed."

 

The water wheel mechanism is still in its original position, though the water does not run alongside any more.

The millstone is built into the stone wall alongside the road.

 

 

 

 

The Cyffdy stream runs under the nearby bridge and forms the boundary of what is now a pleasant garden.

 

Some of the views above are stills from a video shot in the autumn of 2004.

 

 

This is what the view is like today from where the artist painted the mill and chapel.

The mill is just visible through the trees.