Melin Llynon Llanddeusant · Isle of Anglesey · Wales

Melin Llynon stands west of Llanddeusant, set back from the north side of the country road about 500 metres west of the Church of St Marcellus and St Marcellinus. It is a three-storey rubble-masonry tower windmill and is protected as a Grade II* listed building. Since restoration it has been the only working windmill in Wales.

The mill was built between August 1775 and March 1776 as one of the outlying properties of the Llynon estate. It was built for Herbert Jones by Andrew Williams at a cost of £529 11s. The first miller was Thomas Jones, followed by his son, also Thomas. Later the mill passed within the wider Jones family. In 1873 the Llynon estate, including the mill and surrounding fields, was put up for auction, and the Jones family purchased the mill and nearby land. In the late nineteenth century Ann Jones ran the mill with the help of William Jones and William Prichard.

In 1892 Melin Llynon was taken over by Robert Rowlands, from a noted family of Anglesey millers. He continued running the mill through the First World War. In 1918 a severe storm damaged the cap so badly that it became permanently locked in one position. The mill could still grind only when the wind came from the south-west, but its useful working life had effectively come to an end.

The mill became increasingly dilapidated. A storm in 1954 took off the cap, leaving the skeleton of the sails attached to the machinery. By the 1970s the need for intervention had become urgent. In 1978 the mill and surrounding farm came up for sale and, after a public campaign, Anglesey Borough Council bought it. Restoration began in 1979, when the machinery and millstones were removed for refurbishment and the tower was repaired. The restoration was completed late in 1983, the sails were raised in August that year, and Melin Llynon was officially opened by the Mayor of Anglesey, Councillor T D Roberts, on 11 May 1984. The restoration cost about £120,000.

The restored mill has a timber cap and four sails. Its working interior includes some original machinery and three pairs of stones, two dressed and used for grinding and the third open and displayed. The site later developed as a visitor attraction, and replicas of Iron Age roundhouses were added in 2007. After a further period of disrepair by 2019, repairs were completed between 2022 and 2023 as part of the North Anglesey Regeneration Programme, supported by several funding sources. In 2024 the repaired mill was formally handed over to Richard Holt under a 25-year lease, and flour production resumed as part of the renewed visitor operation.