History

Llay Hall Colliery operated from 1877 until 1948. It was sunk by the Llay Hall Coal, Iron and Fireclay Company and worked in association with a fire brick works on the opposite side of the River Alyn. It was nationalised in 1947 but closed shortly afterwards, following a serious underground explosion. The screens and washery building was built around 1920. It formerly contained equipment for sorting and washing coal, but was converted to a regional stores building by the National Coal Board c1948 and subsequently used as a mail-order warehouse and then a light engineering plant. Washery buildings were characteristic of the coal industry in the twentieth century. They were introduced in the 1880s and used at larger collieries from c1900, but did not become universal until after World War II.

Exterior

The building is of the typical and highly characteristic construction of early washeries, consisting of brick panels supported on a bolted and riveted steel frame exposed to the facade. The framed construction supported vibrating machinery and permitted flexible internal use. There are square-headed metal framed windows, some inserted during conversion. The building is of an irregular form, with rail and conveyor access, and varying numbers of storeys, built into sloping ground. The overall plan is an oblong aligned north-west to south-east. At the north-west end is a two-storey section with a gable facing the front. To the south-east is a four-storey block with two transverse gables, one larger and higher than the other. On the north-east side of this section, the building extends over a former rail line for hopper loading. A rare surviving section of covered conveyor route, with a concrete ramp and steel frame supporting a segmental roof, slopes to ground level at the northern corner of the building. Inside, the building has been divided into workshops, stores and offices.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a rare washery building, thought to be one of only two pre-war examples of these distinctive and
important colliery structures surviving in Wales. It has group value with other adjacent colliery buildings.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29493536

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]