Dolgellau was clearly in the heartland of Welsh woollen production 1650 - early 19th Century.

The story of Dolgellau has been told well in recent years by Merfyn Wynn Tomos, who was the local archivist for many years. He has researched and written extensively about the area and his three bilingual books on Dolgellau are illustrated with old photographs that tell of the industries of the town. 

Merfyn, Ywain Myfyr and others have been working on exploring the Aran Valley and joined the project as Community Research Volunteers to provide expertise and local knowledge. During the Research Review with Prof Chris Evans in August 2019, a group were able to visit the ruins of fulling mills and factories marked clearly on maps of the 1700s were fabric was processed and prepared for transport on by packhorse to Shrewsbury, or canal to be shipped from Barmouth.