Boy, 12, backs push for museum at Gwynedd Victorian mill

Owen hopes to see a Victorian mill turned into a museum

A young boy has said it is his dream for a site his family have worked at for decades to be turned into a museum.

The Victorian mill at Maenofferen Quarry can be seen above the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd.

Owen, 12, often walks up there with his father Dylan and said he would like to see the old mill transformed into a museum.

A bid, led by Gwynedd council, to secure Unesco status for the area's slate communities has begun.

It is hoped a successful bid would boost plans to develop the mill at Maenofferen.

Owen said: "My family have worked there for decades and it's a place that is close to my heart. It is a special place.

"It gives you a special feeling when you are stood there. I have a picture in my head of how it would have been like in the past - the sounds, the smells. I think it is important that we do something to protect the old mill."

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He added that he would like to see the old mill transformed into a museum to "show people why the slate quarries are here and why Blaenau Ffestiniog is here".

The Victorian mill at Maenofferen Quarry

His father, Dylan Wyn Jones, said the mill could attract tourists and could also be used as a community facility, but the first step would be to "protect the building from any further damage, before it gets too late".

The weather has certainly taken its toll on the mill and the over the years the building has been vandalised.

Owen's father Dylan said the mill could be used as a community facility

Mr Jones said: "Our family have worked there since the 1900s. There used to be buildings like the old mill all around the quarries in Blaenau. They are now derelict, or they've been taken down and replaced with more modern buildings.

"Maenofferen is therefore quite unique in that the original building is still there, with the tracks and the machinery."

It is more than 200 years since work began at Maenofferen Quarry. In the mid-19th Century, more than 400 men were employed there.

Llechwedd - a company with experience in running tourist attractions in the area - now owns the site and has possible plans in mind to develop the mill at Maenofferen.

However, it is early days and at the moment the company is keeping its cards close to its chest.

Bryn Hughes said the most important step is to stop the quarry's condition deteriorating further

Bryn Hughes, who works for Llechwedd, said: "The most important thing at the moment is to try and make sure that the building's condition doesn't get any worse."

He said he thinks "the key is to become part of the world heritage bid. If money comes from that, then we can do something about it".

A bid is in progress, led by Gwynedd council, to secure Unesco world heritage site status for the slate landscape of north-west Wales.

Unesco is expected to give its final verdict later in the summer.