Llanrwst is situated on the west bank of the River Conwy at the first point which could historically be crossed without the use of a ferry, and the bridge at Llanrwst, constructed in 1636 (rebuilt 1675, 1703) (NPRN 24053) remains one of the outstanding features of the town. St Grwst's Church (NPRN 55093), which is situated near the river, dates from the fifteenth century, albeit on a possibly older site, and contains a coffin said to be that of Llwyelyn ap Gruffydd, which was moved to the church following the dissolution of nearby Maenan Abbey (NPRN 16475). In c.1610-12, a Free School and alms-house was opened by Sir John Wynn in the town, named Jesus Hospital (NPRN 27376). There are also several other important houses near the town, most notably Gwydir Castle (NPRN 26555).

Owing to its position within the transportation networks of north Wales and distance from the town of Conwy, Llanrwst was an important market town and a centre of both the cattle and woollen industries. It held market on Saturday and fairs on the first Tuesday in February, 8 March, 25 April, 21 June, 10 August, 17 September, 25 October, 11 December and the second Tuesday after 11 December. The fair on 21 June was one of the principle wool markets of north Wales for Yorkshire clothiers, with English prices for Welsh wool allegedly being taken from that fair, while large number of cattle were bought at those on 17 September and 25 October by English drovers. The town was also noted from the late-seventeenth to the early-nineteenth century for the manufacture of harps and for its harpists as well as for the manufacture of clocks in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The town grew notably in the nineteenth century, especially with the construction of the Conwy and Llanrwst Railway in 1863, the terminus of which was in Llanrwst before being extended to Betws-y-coed in 1867. The station (NPRN 96158) was renamed North Llanrwst in 1989 following the opening of a new station to the south. Llanrwst became an urban district in 1897.

(Sources: Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 3rd edn (London: S. Lewis and Co., 1845), s.v. `Llanrwst?; Norman Tucker, Llanrwst: The History of a Market Town (Ashbourne: Landmark Publishing, 2002))
A.N. Coward, RCAHMW, 08.05.2019