Trefriw Woollen Mills

Woollen cloth was manufactured in cottages across large parts of North and Mid-Wales before the Industrial Revolution, and in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century numerous small-scale water-powered mills were established to spin yarn, and in some cases to weave cloth. The Trefriw mills south of Conwy on the B5106 road to Betws-y-Coed, date from the 1820s, were taken over by Thomas Williams in 1859, and remain in control of the same family. The mills produce Welsh bedspreads, tweeds, travelling rugs, throws and cushions, and visitors are able to view the weaving on certain days. The Pelton wheel turbine installed in 1949 generates electric power to work 50-year-old looms and can be viewed. The mill museum includes carding engines, spinning mules and warping machines. A 12 minute video shows how the wool is processed.