Originally built in 1730 as a gazebo at Woodchester, Gloucestershire, and later used as a pin mill and later still as a tannery, the building was moved to Bodnant gardens (nprn 266310) and reconstructed in 1938/9 as a pavilion at the south end of the canal terrace. The Pin Mill is very similar in design to Frampton Court on the Bristol Channel, some 20 miles from Woodchester where it once stood.

The coat of arms on the building is of the family Surman (Shurmer) whose connection with the building is a mystery. On the central pier of the eastern pavilion arcade is a dedication inscription with the date 1939. The lead hoppers to the building also have, in raised characters: 'C and H A, 1939' (for Christabel and Henry Aberconway).

RCAHMW, April 2009