Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 11794 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Pentraeth Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH5232076293 Site Type (preferred type first) : POST MEDIEVAL CORN MILL Status : Listed Building II
The cornmill is of probable 18th-century date and currently stands to one storey tall, following a destructive fire in the early 20th century. The access road to the houses to the north-east appears to have damaged the remaining elements of the circular mound/enclosure around the mill, which are clearly visible on historic maps and pre-2007 aerial images. (Steele, 2019)
Not much is left of Melin Orsedd. The windmill, which once dominated the small hamlet of Rhoscefnhir just over a mile south of Pentraeth, is now little more than a stump. A narrow opening between two cottages gives access to the truncated tower which stands on a grassy mound overlooking the flat, marshy valley of the Afon Braint.
The semi-circular remains vary in height from around twelve feet on the north-west side to less than four feet on the south-east. Two doorways with cambered gritstone lintels face each other across blocks of stone which have fallen from the crumbling wall. A tenacious ash sapling pushes out of this rubble towards the light.
The date of Melin Orsedd’s construction is unknown, and its early millers unrecorded. In Slater’s Directory of 1856 John Jones is named as miller of Melin Orsedd, but who followed him is not clear, the 1883 and 1889 editions of the Directory listing both Thomas Jones (possibly John Jones’ son) and Robert Williams. Perhaps they ran the mill jointly, although only the latter’s name appears on an invoice for meal dated March 1888. It is likely that either, or both, were the last to work Melin Orsedd as the mill is believed to have burned down in the early years of this century. As far as elderly residents of Rhoscefnhir can remember the present structure has changed little in their lifetime. (Guise & Lees, 1992)
Sources :
Guise, B. & Lees, G. , 1992 , Windmills of Anglesey
Ordnance Survey , 1889 , OS First Edition Map
Ordnance Survey , 1900 , OS Second Edition Map
Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments , Rc Buildings Records , <1>