History / Hanes by/i Glyn Roberts

  Aberdaron Mill is the most complete mill in the Western part of Llŷn, with the majority of the machinery still in its original position.  By starting with Aberdaron Mill we can see all the different machinery, equipment and features present in a small mill at the end of the nineteenth century.

The earliest document that I have seen mentioning the Mill dates from 1252.  This document is a deed between the Abbot of Bardsey, the Cannons of Aberdaron Church and Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Lord of Cymydmaen (brother to Llewelyn, the last Prince of Wales).  The original document was written in Latin, which was then translated into English and then into Welsh which make some parts of it difficult to read and understand.  In spite of this, it is a very interesting document, listing all the possessions of the Abbot of Bardsey on the mainland and stating how much each tenant had to pay in rent to the Abbot and in taxes to the Lord of Cymydmaen.

One of the familiar names was Trefgraig who had to pay 15 crannocks#, half in good wheat and half in flour also they had to pay 27d. Everybody who held land under the Abbey had to work three days in the Autumn (harvest) and those who were in possession of a horse had to carry two loads from the Glebe Lands to Cwrt y Cil in summer.  The others had to clean the mill leat at the Mill in Aberdaron. The sons of Trehaearn Voel and the township of Pwlldefaid did not have to do any work.  Also they had to pay taxes to the Lord of Cymydfaen, the strongest and most wealthy to pay 4d, 4 sacks of flour and two crannock of oats.  The less wealthy men to pay 2d, two sacks of flour and one crannock of oats. Also the third class of men to pay 1d and one sack of flour. Also the poorest who cannot pay as much to give 1d or its worth. Every house that kept chickens to give one chicken.

In 1291 the Bishop of Bangor carried out a survey of the posessions of Bardsey on behalf of Pope Nicholas IV.  The Abbey owned land in Uwchseley, Isseley, Ultradaron and Treforfa and received the Tithes of the Churches at Bodferin, Llanfaelrhys, Bryncroes, Eglwyscadell, Llangwnnadl and Tudweiliog. Also they owned four mills which were worth 40/- and also they sold rabbits worth 30/-.  At this time the Abbey had 24 head of cattle and 120 sheep.

A survey made in 1352 for Edward III lists five mills in the posession of the Abbey, Aberdaron, Bodrydd, Melin Newydd, Melin Wyrion Goridir and a mill in Gwely Rhys ap Seisyll.  It is possible that Melin Wyrion Goridir was in Tudweiliog and Gwely Rhys was at or was part of present day Bodwrdda.

In 1537 Henry VIII dissolved all the monasteries throughout the land, including the Abbey at Bardsey and took all their property and lands.  In the National Archives there is a document dated 22nd April,1539 which states that “Ye Lord King” lets “A water mill at Aberdaron, formerly among the possessions of the Monastery of Bardsey” to Evan Gwyne for one year.  

Later on, Queen Elizabeth I sold off most of the land that used to belong to the monasteries.  Some of the land at Aberdaron, including the Mill, was bought by the Cefnamwlch Estate, also Cefnamwlch bought the right to the Tithes of Aberdaron, Bryncroes and Nefyn.

Although Aberdaron Mill is the most complete mill in this part of Llŷn, the building has dereriorated with large gaps in the roof and the water wheel has disappeared. It appears that considerable repair and extension work was carried out in the early 1860s.  In 1864 a Mr Evans bought a court case against Mr Williams of Aberdaron Mill.  Mr Evans claimed that he had worked 197 days at the Mill, he had been to Angelsey to search for new mill stones, he was in Caernarfon for a week looking after the cast iron work and had been to Pwllheli three times to select timber for the work at the Mill.  Mr Evans had been paid £23-3-0 but the total account came to £32-16-08.  It is possible that much of the machinery at the Mill dates from this time, the gears etc appear to be fairly recent and are of high quality.

By the eighteenth century the Cefnamwlch Estate owned a considerable amount of land in Aberdaron.  There is a deed in the National Library in Aberystwyth listing all the properties that William Griffith of Cefnamwlch, who died in 1717 left in his will to his brother John Griffith.  The properties in the Parish of Aberdaron include Deunant, Bodernabwy, Moelfre, Rhedynfa, Cilbwth, Tyddyn Thomas Frederick, Cyll y Felin and Aberdaron Mill.

In 1843 Lord Penrhyn bought the old Meillionydd Estate which included 4000 acres in Llŷn and 1000 acres on Snowdon.  By this purchase Lord Penrhyn came to own several farms in Aberdaron and also Towyn and Mynachdy in Tudweiliog.  In 1855 Charles Wynne Grifffith Wynne of Cefnamwlch and Foelas exchanged some of his lands in Aberdaron, including Cefnona and the Mill for Towyn and Mynachdy in Tudweiliog.  Thus Cefnona and the Mill were owned by the Penrhyn Estate until they were sold off in 1907.

The Mill had been connected with Cefnona since at least the eighteenth century.  The tenant of the Mill and Cefnona in 1785 was called William Williams and he and his wife had christened several children in the Church at Aberdaron.  William in 1785, Dorothy in 1786, John in 1781, Sidney in 1893, Mary and Elizabeth in 1795, Catherine in 1797, Jane in 1799, Hugh in 1800 and Thomas in 1804. William Williams died in 1811 and his sons Griffith, William and Hugh took over the working of the Mill.  Griffith was probably the eldest and he signed the lease papers in 1811 he is also listed as the tenant in the Tithe map of 1845.  

Hugh worked in Aberdaron for a while but after he married he became the Miller at Pentrefoelas.  By 1861 he was a widower living back at Cefnona but when he died in 1874 he was the Miller at Felin Nant.  By 1871 Elizabeth the sister was in charge of the Mill, and after her, her nice Margaret, with six servants and maids working for her. After Margaret her nephew Hugh Jones took on the Mill and Cefnona and he was the last Miller at Aberdaron.  He died in 1953 and is buried at St Hywyn's Cemetery.

In more recent times several grand plans have been proposed to re-develop the Mill and adjacent buildings into a tourist and information centre:

   1974 by Eric Edwards Architect 

   2000 by Dobson Owen Architect for Aberdaron Regeneration Committee

   2014 Glyn Ellis Chartered Building Engineer

However, none of these met with the approval of the landowner.

Our 2020 plans are much simpler - to restore the mill to operational status for the benefit and education of the community and visitors to Aberdaron.

With thanks to Glyn Roberts.  Secretary of Bryncroes Archeology and Local History Group. 

# Crannock: an old unit of capacity once used in the west of England and in Wales and Ireland and equal to two, four, or more bushels. One bushel equals 36 litres.