Melin Orsedd

This mill (also called Felin Dyffryn) is located in the garden of a house, down a short lane in the village of Rhoscefnhir, near Pentraeth. Only the base of the tower remains, roofless and full of vegetation. The Muggeridge photo linked to below shows that, although the walls were a bit higher in 1936, it was an empty shell even then. It is also recorded as such in 1929 by Rex Wailes.

The earliest record of the mill is from the Tithe Apportionment in 1841, where the Orsedd mill, houses and surrounding fields were owned by John Rowlands and occupied by Owen Williams. The census for that year shows Owen living there with his wife Ann and five children, his occupation listed as miller. In 1851 he was still there, but his wife had died and all but the two youngest children had left home. Three of his sons became millers; William at Sguthan and Maengwyn windmills in Gaerwen, Owen at the now demolished windmill in Llanddona, and Joseph at the watermill in Pwllfanogl.

In 1856 John Jones was listed in Slater's Directory as being the miller, but in the 1861 census the miller was Williams Evans. In 1866 the Orsedd landholdings, consisting of 10 acres of land including the windmill, blacksmith's shop, an inn called the Orsedd Inn, and several houses and outbuildings, were put up for sale. It was again listed in 1869, this time for sale by auction.

The 1871 census saw John Pritchard being the miller, and by 1881 it had been taken over by Rowland Williams. Subsequently Thomas Jones and Robert Williams were recorded as the millers in Slater's directories of 1883 and 1889.

The mill and surrounding lands and buildings came up for auction again in 1890. The advertisement in the North Wales Chronicle says "the mill has just been put in complete repair, and the Machinery, which is in good repair, will be included in the sale". However, it may not have come back into use, as in the 1891 census the house called Ty'r Felin ("mill house") was unoccupied and no one in the surrounding area was listed with the occupation of miller. No miller appears in the 1901 or 1911 censuses either, although the farm labourer John Jones and his family were living in the house called Felin or Orsedd Mill. It is thought that the mill may have burned down in the early 20th century.

See other images of this windmill at:

  • Windmill World
  • Wikipedia
  • Image taken in 1936 from the Donald W. Muggeridge Collection of Mill Photographs, University of Kent, Canterbury

More information at:

Next Melin y Gof, Trearddur, or go to gallery.

Aerial image


View Windmills of Anglesey in a larger map

 

A new book by Warren Kovach, author of this web site
A-Z of the Isle of Anglesey


We're on Twitter & Facebook


 

About Anglesey History

This is a web site developed by Dr Warren Kovach to celebrate the history of the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales.

Copyright

Copyright © 1995- Warren Kovach, Anglesey, Wales. All Rights Reserved. The photographs and text on these pages may be downloaded and viewed for your own interest, but you MAY NOT distribute them, reproduce them on other web sites, or use them in any form for any commercial purpose without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Last modified 1 September, 2023