'Abercych is a very small, built up historic landscape character area mainly lying on steep east- and northeast-facing valley sides of the Afon Cych, between 10m and 30m above sea level. It is a linear village, or rather an amalgam of several hamlets ? Pont Hercws, Forge Cych, Abercych, Penrhiw and Pont Treseli ? spaced along a minor road that runs along the steep valley sides and down onto the floodplain of the Cych alongside the B4332. Owing to the steep slopes, houses are either located on terraces cut into the hillside upslope of the road or built out over the valley side on the downslope side. Most dwellings are worker houses dating to the later 19th century and built of uncoursed Teifi valley slate. This is either left bare or cement rendered. North Wales slate is the most common roofing material. There is a mixture of building styles, but most houses are two-storeyed and three-bayed - as terraces, semi-detached and detached houses ? with brick door- and window-jambs complementing the stonewalls. Much modified single-storey cottages are present, as are some late 19th century detached, slightly larger workers? houses with period details such as bay windows and bargeboards. At Pont Hercws, a now disused single storey cottage (NPRN 406978) with corrugated iron over thatch, perhaps dates to the early 19th century and is an indication of the type of building replaced by those described above. At least one old smithy survives indicating the industrial origins of this settlement. Buildings to serve the community include two 19th century stone-built chapels - Ramoth Welsh Baptist chapel (NPRN 11120) and Bryn Seion Independent chapel (NPRN 6254), the 20th century iron church of St John (NPRN 11735), and two public houses - the Nag's Head (NPRN 418841) and the Penrhiw Inn, both of which are still open. Many of the former open spaces between the 19th century houses have been filled by late 20th century and 21st century detached houses; this process is continuing.'
Today the village also has a post office and a village hall. On the first edition of the 6inch OS maps, published in 1891, a third public house was recorded in the northern part of Abercych. This public house - the White Lion - appears in the second edition of the 25inch maps, published in 1906. However, on the 2nd edition of the 6inch OS maps, published just a year later in 1907, the public house had vanished and the St John mission church had appeared in its place.
Sources: Dyfed Archaeological Trust historic landscape characterisation of the lower Teifi valley; historic and modern OS maps
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 21st November 2018.