Post House Garden Holiday Cottages
Dog friendly self-catering holidays in South West Wales
History of Cwmbach and its Watermill
Post House Garden Holiday Cottage stand on the site of a former water powered corn mill. The original construction date of the mill is unknown but water mills were commonplace across the UK in the period leading up to the industrial revolution, and here in West Wales they would have been at the centre of local farming communities. The cluster of buildings around the Cwmbach mill (the school house, Methodist chapel and village inn) would have sprung up to form the hub of the community, with tracks radiating outwards from the mill to the surrounding farms providing good access.
1800s Map
On this map, which dates from the mid 1800s, the area that is now the Post House Garden, has been marked with a green boarder.
Towards the northern end of the garden, the map shows a small pond which would have been fed from the river via a weir. This pond was enlarged in the 1980s to form an ornamental feature that still exists today.
From the pond, the map shows a mill race adjacent to the river. Today this has been filled in to become a riverside path that runs the length of the garden.
At the southern end of the garden, a second pond (the mill pond) is shown. This no longer exists, but a quick look at the ground reveals where the mill pond once was, it is now one of few large flat areas within the garden.
The Mill Photographed in the 1920s
This image was taken in the 1920s and shows how the mill appeared at that time, outside the mill are steps that lead up to the working area inside.
An Artisit's Impression
An artist's impression of a typical water powered mill of this region, gives some indication of what the internal workings of the Cwmbach Mill may have looked like.
Remains of the Mill Today
Little remains of the mill today. A partial outline of the building can be seen in what is now an outside seating area, just a few features in the slate walls and part of a cast iron wheel (that once would have held wooden gear pins) remain visible. The pit that housed the water wheel has been filled in, but the course of the mill race (that fed water from the mill pond to the water wheel) can still be traced in the contours of the slate rock face.
Old mill stones are today ornamental features that gather moss at the entrance to the garden.
A Village Shop
In addition to the mill, the site was also home to a village store. It was common at this time for mill owners to trade from a shop on the same site.
The picture, taken in the 1920s, shows the shop on the left with a warehouse next to it and a truck parked in front. Today the shop is a games room for holiday cottage guests and the warehouse has become Red Kite Cottage.
Trucks were used by the shop owner from 1925 to 1950 to deliver butter, eggs and rabbits to Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys on a weekly basis. The owner’s son tells that his father and a mate would often set out at 3:00 am and may not return until midnight, particularly in bad weather or during the war years when lighting on the truck had to be dimmed.
Trucks used were a Bedford and a (left hand drive, ex US army) Dodge, the vehicle shown is believed to be the Bedford.
The building at the back in this image no longer exists, though its outline can still be seen on the ground. The building to the right (only a corner can be seen) is now Kingfisher Cottage.
The Dairy
Behind the shop was a dairy where a few local women were employed to process butter. Unsalted butter was collected from surrounding farms to be processed, packed and sold as Welsh Salted “Shir Gar” butter.
The brand was sold to Cow & Gate in the late 1950s and can still be found on supermarket shelves today.
1960s Aerial Photograph
This aerial photo shows the Post House sometime after 1962 (the image shows mains electricity poles which were installed in this year). The mill can be seen still standing behind the main house, with two smaller buildings to the left of it. These were removed in the 1980s to make way for a modern double garage and workshop.
To the front of the Post House is a telephone box which served local villagers until the 1980s.
Fuel was sold from the village store, next to the phone box is an enclosure (possibly for the sale of paraffin) and two petrol pumps.
The greenhouse to the foreground was built on an old footbridge across the river, neither greenhouse nor bridge remain today.
The image below is believed to date from the 1980s as the edge of the telephone box can still be seen on the right. It shows the shop as it would have appeared up until it closed in the early 1990s, there is a post office sign above the door.
The brick building has been used for various purposes, including a gymnasium, a tea room, a vehicle repair workshop and, by Royal Mail as a local sorting office. It is now Kingfisher holiday cottage.
Around the time this image was taken, The Post House Garden was opened to the public via the National Garden scheme, attracting visitors from far and wide.
Finally, an image of Post House Garden Holiday Cottages as they appear today...
