Report - Penmancho Woollen Mill - North Wales - May 2012

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Explored with OT and Dweeb.

Ive wanted to go check this out since Dark Prince posted it three or four years back. Cant really understand why its not had more attention as its a great explore! I have managed to find a bit of relevant info on-line, by all accounts an important mill!

Arguably one of the most important mills in Wales , this mill was owned & run by Hannah Jones & her family for almost a century. Enormously successful under their ownership, it passed through several unsuccessful ownerships between the 1970s & 1980s & now stands empty. An imposing building in a picturesque spot on the banks of the Machno and next to the medieval pack horse bridge.

Originally owned by the Penrhyn estate; Hannah Jones & sons first worked the mill as tenants & then owners from 1830s until 1968 When Mr. J. R. Jones died. In its heyday employing 20 people. the original water wheel was replaced by a hydro electric turbine after the first World war & powered four looms & a warping machine.

In a beautiful setting, nestled on the banks of the Afon Machno near the Conway falls & with the well known Medieval pack horse bridge below it in the wooded valley.
Hannah Jones & Sons were great innovative designers creating patterns that have transcended the generations. Much copied & corrupted by other mills both in the North & West.

The mill it self was obviously run as a kind of 'working museum' in its latter years and because of that the top two floors are pretty un-interesting, they contain little more than the coffee shop! With daylight fading fast we stuck to the ground floor which is still full of machinery and equipment. Ex house of horrors mannequins make for a bit of fun too!