Brynsadler Mill
Brynsadler Mill (also known as The Great Mill/ Y Felin Fawr) lies on the north bank of the River Ely where Cowbridge Road crosses the river.
There has been a mill here for many centuries. At the death of Richard de Clare in 1262 it was known as Brosley Mill.
It was the mill belonging to the Lordship of Meisgyn and to the Manor of Pentyrch and Clun to which all the tenants were obliged to bring their corn for grinding and it was always held in the demesne of the chief lord. In practice its manorial function had fallen into disuse long before the 16th century and it was leased out to local gentry who sub-let to working tenants.
The earliest leaseholder we know of is John Thomas Bassett of Pencoed in Capel Llanilltern who had it before 1540 and by 1570 it was held by his widow, Dame Elizabeth Walwyn. Shortly after that was George Mathew, gent., probably the base son of William Mathew of Radyr who owned Bryn Rhydd, the modern Lanelay Fach in Talbot Green.
By the late 18th Century the lease was held by Christopher Bassett of Lanelay at a rent of 18 shillings a year. The mill was rebuilt by the Bassett family at around this time.
Over the years there were many owners. By 1935 the mill had fallen into disuse, though the wooden water wheel was still there in the mid 1960s.
The Mill race (the channel cut for the water to power the mill) can still be traced in the field close to the road
For more information about the history of the community of Pontyclun please visit our online museum