23023

 

II  

Designated  

21/03/2000  

21/03/2000  

Cwm Clais Mill  

 

Neath Port Talbot  

Cwmavon  

Port Talbot  

Cwm Clais  

276661  

192114  

 

To the S of the farmhouse and immediately E of stables. The hillside slopes up behind to the S.  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

 

The wheel is C19 and was made in Carmarthen. It powered a small grist mill until c1950. It was used for cutting up root vegetables for cattle as well as for chaffing corn. The barn itself may pre-date the wheel.  

Three-bay rubble stone barn with pan-tile roof. Opposing central doorways and through-passage. The W doorway has a timber lintel with the jambs partially replaced in brick and breeze block. The E doorway appears to have been narrowed and has brick jambs. The walls have been rebuilt in some areas. Large opening to S gable with alterations to surround. Added lean-to against N gable end with slate roof and an opening with brick jambs and a timber lintel. The stone-lined wheelpit is aligned with the E side of the barn and is offset to the N of the entrance. Cast iron wheel with 6 cast iron struts, wooden paddles and spur gearing. The axle is attached to timber baulks on the wheelpit walls. A small gear on the N side of the spur wheel is attached to the drive shaft which runs into the barn. To the N of the wheelpit is a stone boundary wall which runs off the side of the barn and steps down towards the W. The tail race enters a culvert beneath the wall and has a segmental brick head. The wall returns to the S as a low breeze block enclosure wall. The head race does not survive but a former stone and breeze-block lined culvert survives to the S. A pool of similar materials is to the S of the barn.  

The interior has a collar truss roof, some of the timbers replaced. Partial brick-paved floor in through-passage. The walls are partially lined in breeze blocks. Low loft to N end supported on renewed squared timbers. The ground floor to the N steps down and is now concrete. The drive shaft enters the E wall at a low level and is attached to a belt drive wheel. A stable has been formed at the S end with a brick paved floor.  

Listed as a rare survival of a small grist mill, a good example of C19 farming practice in this part of Wales.