The final days of Melin Teifi
Melin Teifi is a Mill deep in the heart of west Wales, now closed as of January 2023. I was invited to shoot the mill by Daniel of the London Cloth Co. Who in conjunction with the National Wool Museum, commissioned me to document the final days of before Raymond and Diane, the owners close the mill and retire. To reflect the passage of time, and the fullness of the life here, I decided to commit the final hours of the mill to film.
Entering Melin Teifi one is affronted by an onslaught of clattering, bangs and proverbial wallops. Yet amongst the inch deep dust covered centuries old machinery, there lies a stillness. A quiet reflection on the passage of time, not only since these cast iron monsters were first birthed upon the northern mills in the mid-1800s but also in the weighted melancholy of a retirement plan for Raymond and Diane that sees the whole place being sold to the National Wool Museum, who reside, conveniently, next door.
Raymond first opened the mill in the 60s, Diane started working there shortly after, and it wasn’t long before they married. A lifetime together forged in welsh wool, amongst the hum and toil of mill life.
The oldest employee of three, Eric, now in his 80s, and until the final days, continued working there one day a week, helping the bobbins on their eternal path, to and fro. In these photos, we say goodbye to a way of life, and for the whole family at Melin Teifi, good luck for wherever life takes them now.
