The village of Llanelltyd is situated on the northern side of the Mawddach river, approximately a mile and a half north west of Dolgellau. Llanelltyd is named after the village's church, which is dedicated to St. Illtyd (NPRN 43876). The church is thought to have originated in the twelfth century or earlier. It is neighbours with Cymer Abbey (NPRN 95420), established by the Cistercian order in 1198.
When the first edition of the 25inch OS maps was published in 1889, Llanelltyd had a smithy, a post office, a school (NPRN 31938) and Peniel Methodist chapel (NPRN 8462), which closed in 1992. Llanelltyd still has a primary school, although it has moved about half a mile from the north eastern edge of the village to the south western edge. In 2015 it was educating around forty pupils aged 3 to 11.
External sources: historic and modern OS maps; Estyn report for Ysgol Gynradd Llanelltyd, June 2015.
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 5th October 2018.