CROESO / WELCOME!
The meeting place of Wales’ past and present
Y Dolydd is a Community Enterprise for Arts, Education, Environment and Heritage. It’s housed in the Llanfyllin Union Workhouse: the only one in Wales open to the public.
Become a member and join us on our journey
With only 2500 people paying £1 a month we could cover the mortgage. We could then do so much more work on the fabric of the building to both save it and to allow increased use for the community, both locally and further afield and for arts, the environment and education.
The Workhouse is owned by the Llanfyllin Dolydd Building Preservation Trust (Charity No. 1091097). The Trust is a community group with membership open to all. Its elected Trustees manage the project as volunteers.
The Trust bought Y Dolydd and six acres of land with the help of the Architectural Heritage Fund in 2004. It stood abandoned and derelict. The priority was to arrest the decay and get the building back into use. Restoration has been gradual: much has been achieved and more remains to be done.
Y Dolydd is a handsome stone building, listed Grade II*. It’s Britain’s finest example of a workhouse built under the New Poor Law of 1834. It stands in the glorious countryside of Mid-Wales, close to the market town of Llanfyllin on the road leading to Lake Vyrnwy.
Visitors can walk round the site and view the Workhouse History Centre, a small, self-guided museum telling the story of the people who lived and worked here for over a century. You can watch a 30-minute film, ‘Ghosts of the Workhouse’, aimed at adults and children, and follow a visitor trail with an activity leaflet for families. There’s a second-hand bookshop upstairs and picnic tables outdoors. The Centre is open daily free of charge: a donation is appreciated. Schools and other groups are welcome by appointment.
Facilities at Y Dolydd
- 20 workshops let to artists, small enterprises or community groups (not normally open to the public)
- A venue with its own café-bar and kitchen, available for functions
- A 20-bed bunkhouse catering especially for groups
- A gallery with occasional exhibitions
- Outdoor space including four courtyards, extensive parking, a garden and fields used for music events, horse shows, rallies and ecological activities.
The Trust is part way through a major project to restore the Master’s House, forming the central hub of the building. Some other areas still need repair. When visiting, please remember this is work in progress.
Please consider supporting the Trust by a donation, as a volunteer, or by joining as a member. The minimum subscription is just a pound a month and you can join by downloading a form from this website. Volunteers can help with maintaining the building or site, organising events or joining in historical research.
Y Dolydd, shows how a small community can take on a large historic building of national importance and find it new and viable uses.
Dogs with well behaved owners are welcome to visit. Please keep dogs on a lead and pick up after them. Bins are provided. Our dog policy differs between events so please check with event organisers before bringing your pet to an event. Diolch! Thank you.