local coal to power the machinery, and importing coal added to costs. Also, there was no direct railway to carry the flannels to the South Wales Coalfield, where they would have been in demand. Instead, they had to be shipped to northern England, where there was intense competition from local mills. The Pryce-Jones "Welsh" flannel was eventually mostly made in Rochdale, Lancashire. The steam engines were very inefficient and used of slack coal per horsepower/hour. At the start of 1891 the Severn Tweed Company replaced them with much more cost-effective gas motors. However, by the end of the 19th century the mills in Newton were no longer competitive with those in the north of England. There was a disastrous fire in 1910, and another in 1912, after which the mill was not rebuilt. After the Cambrian Mills closed, Newtown was no longer an important woollen industrial centre and many of the workers moved elsewhere. Price-Jones's company remained profitable until the Great Depression. It was sold to a firm in Liverpool in 1938. The site today is the Cambrian Gardens district of Newtown. Notes Sources Textile mills in Wales Buildings and structures in Powys 1856 establishments in Wales 1912 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Newtown, Powys