I visited this on the way back from Fishguard.
An exterior from geograph since the roof is being redone and the front of the building is partially hidden by scaffolding and fences.
The symmetry makes it look almost like a French chateau.
History abridged from https://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/40227/details/blackpool-mill-canaston-bridge.
“Blackpool Mill is an imposing building constructed in 1813 on the site of a 17th century ironworks….The mill was originally arranged round a central waterwheel, 4.5 metres diameter and 3.5 metres wide.
The wheel was replaced by a turbine and the machinery renewed c1900 by Armfields…The turbine drove four pairs of stones at first floor level, supported on a cast iron hurst frame.
It remained in use until 1958, when electric drive was fitted. The mill was renovated and opened to the public as a tourist venue in 1968, but is currently closed.”
At the moment it’s leased on a repairing basis to Bluestone, who run a holiday camp nearby.
Plans to redevelop it as a tourist destination again were turned down in 2017 but it seems they are at least fixing the roof.
Pictures are a mixture of camera and phone, ordered from the top down.
Even though it was fairly early in the morning there was still some activity on the scaffolding outside which made it awkward to shine a torch around without drawing attention.
A quick shot of the attic, with the remains of a sack hoist mechanism visible in the middle rafters.
The third floor was half-height and filled with scaffolding beams so down to the second floor, which was empty.
There would originally have been flour processing equipment in here.
On the first floor grinding stones and some machines - scalpers, a bagger (I think) and a corn crusher.
At one end of the room were remnants of an exhibition about the local area and an old information board.
Drive train for the stones on the ground floor. The large gear inside the cage which turned the layshaft was driven by the turbine from below.
To the left of it are two control rods which controlled the water flow with hatches/sluices.
Armfield and Co. were a well known manufacturer of water turbines as well as other equipment - one of the scalpers was made by them.
These days they seem to make educational engineering toys and R&D equipment.
In the basement the turbine drive shaft and two control rods extend down to the mud.
Originally this area would have housed the wide water wheel, water coming in under the building from the front lawn (the wall on the right must be a later addition) and exiting to the river on the left.
Grooves in the wall made by the wheel.
The basement area houses a curious collection of painted polystyrene beasts (hyena, bear, big fish) lurking in recesses, apparently part of an exhibition about paleolithic Wales.
There must have been dragons at that time as well - this one was guarding a small ancillary waterwheel a bit further along.
View from Blackpool Bridge showing the exit arches for both water wheels.
An exterior from geograph since the roof is being redone and the front of the building is partially hidden by scaffolding and fences.
The symmetry makes it look almost like a French chateau.
History abridged from https://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/40227/details/blackpool-mill-canaston-bridge.
“Blackpool Mill is an imposing building constructed in 1813 on the site of a 17th century ironworks….The mill was originally arranged round a central waterwheel, 4.5 metres diameter and 3.5 metres wide.
The wheel was replaced by a turbine and the machinery renewed c1900 by Armfields…The turbine drove four pairs of stones at first floor level, supported on a cast iron hurst frame.
It remained in use until 1958, when electric drive was fitted. The mill was renovated and opened to the public as a tourist venue in 1968, but is currently closed.”
At the moment it’s leased on a repairing basis to Bluestone, who run a holiday camp nearby.
Plans to redevelop it as a tourist destination again were turned down in 2017 but it seems they are at least fixing the roof.
Pictures are a mixture of camera and phone, ordered from the top down.
Even though it was fairly early in the morning there was still some activity on the scaffolding outside which made it awkward to shine a torch around without drawing attention.
A quick shot of the attic, with the remains of a sack hoist mechanism visible in the middle rafters.
The third floor was half-height and filled with scaffolding beams so down to the second floor, which was empty.
There would originally have been flour processing equipment in here.
On the first floor grinding stones and some machines - scalpers, a bagger (I think) and a corn crusher.
At one end of the room were remnants of an exhibition about the local area and an old information board.
Drive train for the stones on the ground floor. The large gear inside the cage which turned the layshaft was driven by the turbine from below.
To the left of it are two control rods which controlled the water flow with hatches/sluices.
Armfield and Co. were a well known manufacturer of water turbines as well as other equipment - one of the scalpers was made by them.
These days they seem to make educational engineering toys and R&D equipment.
In the basement the turbine drive shaft and two control rods extend down to the mud.
Originally this area would have housed the wide water wheel, water coming in under the building from the front lawn (the wall on the right must be a later addition) and exiting to the river on the left.
Grooves in the wall made by the wheel.
The basement area houses a curious collection of painted polystyrene beasts (hyena, bear, big fish) lurking in recesses, apparently part of an exhibition about paleolithic Wales.
There must have been dragons at that time as well - this one was guarding a small ancillary waterwheel a bit further along.
View from Blackpool Bridge showing the exit arches for both water wheels.
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