Castle Leather Works is believed to date from about 1830. The Tithe Map of 1841 shows a building with a leat from the River Wye forking into two branches as it enters the building at the western end; presumably there were two internal waterwheels. The first edition Ordnance Survey 25-inch map of 1889 shows only one leat entering and leaving the building, which is not named. Originally a three-storey building, it was destroyed by fire in about 1910 and was re-built as a drill hall, later incorporating a rifle practice range. In 1913, it was opened as a cinema and dance hall, the waterwheel driving a generator which provided power for the projectors. The hall became known as the Castle Cinema; following its closure in the 1960s, it housed an engineering company making gears. The building subsequently became a supermarket.
Sources include: Melin, The Journal of the Welsh Mills Society, Vol. 5 (1989), p.41.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 26 February 2014.
