Industrial heritage site set to be auctioned

A unique site that encapsulates centuries of Welsh industrial history, featuring a historic woodland, cottages and industrial buildings is set to go under the hammer next month with a £450,000 guide price.

Lerry Mills, in the village of Talybont near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion is a seven-acre site that includes historic woodland, river frontage and fishing rights on the River Leri, together with a collection of cottages, a shop and former industrial buildings, some of which date back to the 1600s.

The Lerry Mills properties and land have been in the ownership of the same family for almost 100 years, and will feature as a single lot in the next online, live-streamed auction to be held by SDL Property Auctions, part of Eddisons, on 26 February.

At the heart of the site is a former mill complex that in the 17th century was a lead smeltery, refinery and coin-stamping mill, made viable by the unusually high silver content of the local lead.

Following a recession in the mid-18th century, the site was reconstructed in the 1800s as a water-powered woollen mill, which continued to produce woollen tweed suit fabric until 1980.

The site includes an original six-bedroom house, later converted into five weavers’ cottages and a shop. According to auctioneers, the buildings are in need of renovation but present opportunities for restoration and future residential use.

The site, in a wooded valley of renowned natural beauty bisected by the River Leri, also features several original mill buildings, with a spinning room, wool shed, washing shed and dye shed all still standing as remnants of Lerry Mills’ industrial past.

Andrew Parker, partner and auctioneer at SDL Property Auctions, said the sale represents an unusually complete surviving industrial landscape.

“Lerry Mills is a remarkable example of how industry, landscape and community were historically intertwined in rural Wales,” he said. “Sites with this depth of history, natural beauty, and of such a substantial size, rarely come to market.

“Subject to the necessary planning consents, the buildings, which are in a glorious area of Ceredigion that is popular with visitors, could be restored for heritage, cultural or alternative uses. There is clear potential here for a thoughtful future for Lerry Mills that respects and preserves the site’s legacy.”

For more information about Lerry Mills, or to register to bid remotely online, by phone or by proxy, visit sdlauctions.co.uk