Porth y Castell

This view from across the bay shows the brickworks buildings at the base of the cliff and also the winding engine remains on the hilltop to the left. A darker line of vegetation shows the line of the tramway which brought the quartzite from the hilltop quarry down to a crushing house at the back of the works. The silca rich bricks made here were suitable for lining industrial furnaces.

Walking the coast path eastwards from Cemaes is fairly challenging, with many steep ups and downs, but east of Porth Wen the gradients ease and the path is easy to Bull Bay.

From the coast path. The stump of a tower on the headland is the remains of one built to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.

The track into the old porcelain works now makes for a fine green path through the bracken, next to the reedbeds filling the marshland of the valley.

The farm known as Castell across the bay from the old Porth Wen brickworks.

A view of the bay through a window of the old brick works.

A natural rock arch by the old brick works.

The abandoned brickworks at Porth Wen lies on the north coast of Anglesey, a few miles to the west of Amlwch. It was opened to make refractory bricks for use in the steel industry. It is believed that the manufacture of bricks on the site began around the turn of the twentieth century. The type of brick produced was based on the local yellow clay rather than the usual red house brick. They were capable of withstanding higher temperatures that normal bricks and may have been used for the lining of kilns and furnaces. Despite the high quality brick and tiles produced, transport was always a problem for the brickworks as all raw materials and products had to be transported by sea. A small quay was built for the loading and unloading of ships but the poor harbour became a big hindrance to profitability. As well as the effects of tides, a heavy swell was often encountered and the small vessels were often battered while at the quayside; the sharp, jagged rocks of the seabed caused much damage to the craft so that many owners refused to risk their ships mooring there. The works closed at the start of the First World War and most of the useful equipment and machinery was removed to be used by a firm in Caernarfon some time before the Second World War. Most of the remainder has slowly rusted away ever since. Recommended further reading: Link (Dave Sallery’s History of Porth Wen Brickworks) Link (Anglesey Hidden Gems)

The abandoned brickworks at Porth Wen lies on the north coast of Anglesey, a few miles to the west of Amlwch. It was opened to make refractory bricks for use in the steel industry. It is believed that the manufacture of bricks on the site began around the turn of the twentieth century. The type of brick produced was based on the local yellow clay rather than the usual red house brick. They were capable of withstanding higher temperatures that normal bricks and may have been used for the lining of kilns and furnaces. Despite the high quality brick and tiles produced, transport was always a problem for the brickworks as all raw materials and products had to be transported by sea. A small quay was built for the loading and unloading of ships but the poor harbour became a big hindrance to profitability. As well as the effects of tides, a heavy swell was often encountered and the small vessels were often battered while at the quayside; the sharp, jagged rocks of the seabed caused much damage to the craft so that many owners refused to risk their ships mooring there. The works closed at the start of the First World War and most of the useful equipment and machinery was removed to be used by a firm in Caernarfon some time before the Second World War. Most of the remainder has slowly rusted away ever since. Recommended further reading: Link (Dave Sallery’s History of Porth Wen Brickworks) Link (Anglesey Hidden Gems)