wool

PWLL WOOLLEN MILLS There were apparently two woollen factories in the village of Pwll. One was opened by a Thomas Rees, when he was aged 24 years, in 1874 in Waun Eos. The land that the mill stood on was leased from John Stepney Cowell for an annual rent of £4. It was recorded in the 1881 census that Thomas Rees employed 3 men at the mill. Water for the mill was obtained from a well on the land. The factory ceased trading at the end of the First World War. The second mill was located at Pont-yr-Odyn (Bridge of the Kiln). It was operated by a Raymond Davies who was known colloquially as Raymond y Gwe’ydd (Raymond the weaver) and his brother. The first mention of the mill was in 1906 when it was listed in the Llanelli Trade Directory. The mill had its own outlet on the upper level of Llanelli market (as you entered the market from Cowell Street). Their products were also sold in the markets of Swansea and Neath. The mill was ompletely destroyed by fire in May 1925. Despite the efforts of the local fire brigade the factory was razed to the ground. Damage was estimated at several hundred pounds. Despite this setback the mill managed to survive and by 1947 the factory employed four people. By 1951 the mill employed six full time workers producing blankets, flannel, woollen coats, fringed quilts, honeycomb quilts, tweed and knitting yarns. Due to a decline in demand for its traditional products the mill, towards the end of its life, changed to the manufacture of shawls, knitting yarn and tweeds. The machinery was powered by water although later on it changed to electricity, which they generated using their own diesel generator. The raw material was sourced locally from a farm in Burry Port called Henllan Fawr. By the mill’s closure they were importing wool from New Zealand and Australia because wool from these sources was much softer than the coarser Welsh wool from Burry Port.

The mill continued production, albeit on a part time basis, up to its closure in 1957. Sources: A Long Mile ©, Bônau Cabbage Patch ©,