Melin-y-Coed is a very small village on the south eastern outskirts of Llanrwst. It has developed around the place where the Afon Sychbant river meets Nant-y-Goron stream. It was probably this easy access to water that led to the building of Melin-y-Coed corn mill (NPRN 24887), after which the village is named.
The first edition of the 25inch OS maps, published in 1875, labels the settlement as 'Pentre-melin-y-coed' (mill of the woods village). It shows the corn mill and Bethel Calvinistic Methodist chapel (NPRN 7764) near the confluence of the rivers. 300 metres to the north of the chapel and mill is a schoolhouse (NPRN 410966). Surrounding these amenities are a number of scattered farms such as Coed-llydain-b?ch, Coed-llydain-mawr, Sychbant and Bryn-yr-odyn. Little had changed by the time the second and third editions of the 25inch maps were published in 1900 and 1913. Indeed, very little has changed on modern 21st century maps, although a new row of houses 'Maes-y-Felin' has been built to the west of the old corn mill. The chapel remains open and 'is now Grade 2 Listed as an spoilt nineteenth century rural chapel.'
Sources: modern and historic OS maps; RCAHMW database
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 11th February 2019