Abakhan Fabrics, Hobby & Home

About

Abakhan Fabrics, Hobby & Home is a shopping destination set on the banks of the River Dee & is a real Aladdin's Cave of Fabrics, Crafts, Knitting Yarns & Haberdashery.  Steeped in history, the site is set upon the grounds of a former led smelting works and encompasses a modern Café, children's play area, toilet facilities and free parking.

History & Heritage
As well as a major retail outlet, the venue is of considerable local historic interest & the Abakhan Family have taken great care to preserve the old led smelting works buildings, resulting in the presentation of an award by the Prince of Wales in 1988 for the sympathetic restoration of the Mill Shop Buildings.

​​​​​Llanerch-y-Mor Smelter

Records show that a lead smelting works operated at Llanerch-y-Mor as far back as 1684. The works were known as the Llanerch-y-Mor Smelter or Holywell Smelter. In the 17th century smelting was done using charcoal as fuel and lead was sent by sea to London hence it’s location next to a small dock on the Dee Estuary. The London Lead Company opened a coal driven reverberation furnace in nearby Bagillt in 1703 and by 1750 the site at Llanerch-y-Mor was extended and similar furnaces introduced.

By the 19th century the Llanerch-y-Mor site was owned by North Wales Lead Works Company and around 1848 the building that we see today was built. This was a boom time for local lead companies and it is estimated that more than a quarter of lead in the United Kingdom was brought to Flintshire for smelting at Bagillt, Flint and Llanerch-y-Mor. Lead ore was brought from local Halkyn mines by horse and cart whilst additional supplies came by boat and the Llanerch-y-Mor lead around the middle of the 19th century was exclusively for the Manchester market.
 

Waterwheel

A large lake, sited in the elevated grounds of the house opposite the works, just behind the brickworks chimney, (still to be seen amongst the trees) provided the works with power via the water which entered a tunnel running beneath the road and under a sizable waterwheel affixed to the side of a stone built elevation, which converted the energy generated by the waterwheel. It is claimed that this waterwheel was an exact full size replica of the Laxey Wheel on the Isle of Man and was built by the same manufacturer. The wheel chamber has been retained and is located on-site.

Built by Ellis Evans from neighbouring Greenfield the 60ft diameter (18.3m) waterwheel pit, used to drive machinery was itself driven from water siphoned from the large holding pond across the Coast Road. Although unfortunately the wheel and part of the supporting structures, together with the reverberation furnaces are long since demolished the wheel-race and adjacent supporting wall still remain as you can see.

During the last war the works were taken over by the Ministry of Supply and after consultation with the Darwen and Mostyn Ironworks a ferro-manganese plant was set up using the Alumino-Thermal process. Sources of ferro-manganese had dried up early in the war due to the occupation of Norway by Germany in 1940 when the Norwegian supply line was interrupted, thus the works became an important cog of the war machine.

 

Fire Damage

It was in the 1950’s that a gigantic fire took hold of the factory, having started in a dump of aluminium filings. The dump, which also contained manganese waste, was in the long building (100ft x 30ft) which is by the main road. The blaze became so fierce that it engulfed the whole building and in less than half an hour the roof had collapsed. The main road had to be closed for some time as there was a strong danger that the whole side of the building would collapse into the road. The blaze was tackled by fire brigades from Holywell, Prestatyn, Flint and Connahs Quay. The flames were so fierce that they could not be extinguished and the brigades concentrated their efforts on preventing further spread of the flames, particularly to a large tank containing 5,000 gallons of oil.

 

The Renovation of the Mill Shop, Llanerch-y-Mor

The works proved to be viable until 1955 when it was forced to close due to competition from another war-time foe, Japan, who could supply the same product at several pounds per ton less than it could be produced at Llanerch-y-Mor. At the time of closure, the average wage paid to an unskilled worker here was £6.10s (£6.50p) per week. The Ministry of Supply gave up the unequal struggle and following a short tenure by Allen Tube Cutters, the property was acquired in a very run down condition by Michael Abakhan Ltd., who have transformed the existing buildings and added new ones to emphasise the industrial heritage of the site as you see it today. The considerable investment and attention to detail was rewarded when the company won the ‘Prince of Wales Award’ in 1988 in recognition of “The Renovation of the Mill Shop, Llanerch-y-Mor”. The award was presented to Nick Abakhan by the Prince of Wales in Cardiff.

This brief history was compiled by the late local historian; Anthony Lewis Jones of Mostyn.

Wales Cost Path
Abakhan Fabrics, Hobby & Home is located directly on The Wales Coast Path - a designated long-distance trail which follows the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is 870 miles long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the world to cover the entire length of a country's coastline.

The Café & Gift Shop
The Café at Abakhan is a family run business serving local Welsh cakes and home-cooked food with a particular emphasis on Afternoon Tea.  Treat yourself or someone special to a wonderful Afternoon Tea experience. Served with a selection of sandwiches, light cakes, scones (with clotted cream & jam) and unlimited tea or coffee.  24 hour booking preferred (01745 562 102).

Coach & Group Visits
We offer incentives for group visits, for further details please visit https://abakhanfabrics.wufoo.com/forms/z1k68bi10cn8dh8/

Facilities
– Indoor & outdoor seating to accommodate up to 150 people
– FREE children’s play area
– Additional WC facilities
– Dog friendly indoors
– Direct access to the Wales Coast Path
– Landscaped courtyard and gardens