Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust describes Bryneglwys as 'a small settlement just to the south of the A5104 that links Bala and Chester, which lies beneath Llantysilio Mountain, 8km north-east of Corwen. The church surmounts a knoll projecting northwards into the valley of Afon Morwynion. The rest of the village lies to the south of it, mostly at a slightly lower altitude, on a spur between small streams that drop down off the mountain.'
'Nothing is known of the origins of this small settlement. The name is an apposite one, literally meaning 'hill church', and is first documented in 1284 as Breneglus. In the Taxation of 1291 it was Ecclia de Bryn Eglwys. There is little to suggest that the church is an early medieval foundation, other than its
dedication to a British saint, yet this remains a possibility. Its medieval growth, if there was any, is unchronicled, and by the standards of rural Denbighshire, its post-medieval development is not well charted. If Thomas Badelsade's map can be trusted, the church and the parson's house represented Bryneglwys in its entirety in 1740, but the map's small scale calls for caution, and is probably misleading in that Edward Lhuyd's correspondent at the end
of the 17th century claimed that there were five houses by the church. The shortage of information continues even into the mid 19th century for Bryneglwys? tithe map is poor and unusually does not even depict individual dwellings. As a consequence there is virtually nothing that can be said about how the village reached its present form.'
When the first edition of the 25inch OS maps was published in 1874, the village had three places of worship - St. Tysilio's church (NPRN 309583); Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist chapel (NPRN 7524) and Seion Welsh Calvinistic Methodist chapel (NPRN 7523). Bryneglwys also had a public house in the village centre - 'Wild Boar,' as well as a National School for girls and boys; a post office; a smithy and a corn mill (NPRN 24858). Little had changed by the time the third edition was published in 1912.
In the 21st century, both chapels, the school and the public house have closed.
Sources: modern and historic OS maps; CPAT Report No 1257 - 'Historic settlements in Denbighshire,' R J Silvester, C H R Martin and S E Watson, March 2014 (p.14)
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 11th December 2018.