The Old Mill,

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

was designated Grade II listed building on the 24 October 1950; the mill probably dates from around 1300. The Warden of Ruthin, the early 19th century, Archdeacon Newcome, noted that the building had been used as a garrison chapel. There are two early English pointed arches and one gable end has a blocked

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

, with a sunken cross above. The watermill was removed from the mill during the 1950s and Mill St runs to the side of the old mill.Listebuildings website
accessed 18 September 2014

River Clwyd

Power for the mill came from the

River Clwyd The River Clwyd (Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'') is a river in Wales that rises in the Clocaenog Forest () northwest of Corwen. Its total length is . It flows due south until, at Melin-y-wig, it veers north-eastwards, tracking the A494 and passing t ...

which runs nearby. The river also serviced the woollen and leather industries in Borthyn and Mwrog St. The car park at Cae Ddôl is known locally as Crispin Yard, named after the patron saint of shoe makers St Crispin reflecting the leather industry that thrived in the area. The river was bridged by a water gate there is no evidence when this was demolished. Today a road bridge, known as Pont Howkin crosses the river; it was originally built in 1771 and formerly known as Pont Newydd.

References

{{reflist, 2 ''Rhuthun Hanesyddol / Historic Ruthin'' (1979) and Ruthin Archives Grade II listed buildings in Ruthin Water mills in Denbighshire