Meirion Mill
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Meirion Mill is a woollen mill at
Dinas Mawddwy Dinas Mawddwy (; ) is a town in the Community (Wales), community of Mawddwy in south-east Gwynedd, north Wales. It lies within the Snowdonia National Park, but just to the east of the main A470 road, A470, and consequently many visitors pass the ...
in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It operates as a
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
. The mill is located on the site of the northern terminus of the defunct
Mawddwy Railway The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways. Despite being only 6 miles 63 cha ...
.


History


Slate warehouse

The large,
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
-built building that Meirion Mill now occupies was originally built in 1867 to serve as a warehouse for the nearby Minllyn slate quarry. Slate products from the quarry were stored in the warehouse, waiting to be shipped by trains on the Mawddwy Railway to
Cemmaes Road Cemmaes Road (; ) is a village in Powys, Wales. It is in the Community (Wales), community (civil parish) of Glantwymyn. The village was named in English language, English after the now-closed station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway, now ...
and beyond. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the warehouse was converted into a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
for local timber production, and remained in use for timber into the 1920s.


Woollen Mill

After a period of disuse, the building was taken over in 1946 by a consortium of local farmers who converted it into a woollen mill. Their principal product was
sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
's wool, and by joining together they could produce high-value woven products from the fleeces. They incorporated as The Wool Society Ltd. in 1947. This enterprise was initially successful, but by 1952 it was taken over by the Welsh Agricultural Organisation Society. They continued to run it, but by the early 1960s the business was failing, and the Society sought an operator for the mill. The Turner Brothers of Bridlington, a manufacturer of bedspreads, took over as the operator of the mill in 1963. They upgraded the machinery and sought to purchase the business outright, but the Society declined to sell it. Turner Brothers then abandoned their use of the mill. In 1966,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
industrialist Raymond Street took over.


Meirion Mill

Street invested both time and money into the mill, further modernising its equipment, and expanding the business. He founded the Welsh Weavers Association and in 1973 ran the first Welsh Fair at
Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...
. He adopted the name Meirion Mill for his business. Street saw an opportunity to expand the operation at Dinas Mawddwy beyond weaving. He opened the Mill as a tourist attraction and sales venue. By 1974 the Mill was attracting 100,000 visitors annually. Looking to expand the attraction further, Street planned to open a railway museum on the station site. This plan rapidly expanded to include a
narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...
, which opened in 1975 as the
Meirion Mill Railway The Meirion Mill Railway was a narrow gauge railway that operated at Meirion Mill in Dinas Mawddwy, Wales. It only operated for three years from 1975 to 1977. History Meirion Mill is a tourist attraction that operates in a large slate buildi ...
. This only operated until Easter of 1977. Street also rented space to local craft workers who could sell their products at the Mill and demonstrate their crafts as additional tourist attractions, these included weaving and pottery. During the 1980s, sales of woven products became the primary business at the Mill, with the local crafts gradually being phased out, and active weaving stopping. Today the tourist shop sells a range of woven items, crafts and homeware. In addition to the shop, the old Mawddwy Railway building now also contains a café. At the site many relics of the old railway still remain.


References

{{reflist Commercial buildings completed in 1867 Tourist attractions in Gwynedd Dinas Mawddwy