Glanllyn or Blaenllyn Farm is located about a mile south est of the village of Brongest on the northern banks of the Crynant stream. According to heritage consultancy Trysor, 'Glanllyn is not shown on the Ordnance Survey's Original Surveyors Drawings Lampeter map sheet, surveyed in 1811 nor on the 1831/1834 Ordnance Survey First Series maps.'
'The first detailed map of the field systems is the Troedyraur parish tithe map of 1840. This shows that the essential characteristics of the field system in the area existed by this time and the field system mapped in 1840 is recognisable when compared with the modern field system. No field names are recorded on the tithe schedule.' At this time part of what is now the Glanllyn or Blaenllyn holding 'formed part of Troedyraur Farm, a property of Sir Prys Pryse of Gogerddan. The tenant in 1840 was Thomas Evans.'
'Glanllyn first appears in the census returns for Troedyraur parish in 1871, suggesting that it was built during the 1860s. It appears to originally have been a small cottage, home in 1871 to a retired farmer named John Rees and his wife Mary and an elderly lodger. The 1881 census shows that Mary Rees, aged 73, lived alone at Glanllyn, earning a living as a Stocking Knitter.'
'In 1891, the census indicated that Glanllyn was a farm for the first time. It was home to John and Mary Thomas, both in their mid-20s, and their two infant daughters. The family had expanded to seven children by the time of the 1901 census.'
'The last available census at present dates to 1911. At that time Ben and Polly Davies farmed Glanllyn. They had four children and Ben Davies' mother also lived with the family.'
'Both the 1889 and 1905 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map edition show a dwelling named as Blaenllyn close to the present farm buildings at Glanllyn. It is presumed that Blaenllyn and Glanllyn Farm are one and the same place. It may be that the Ordnance Survey map made an error in annotating the map in this case.'
Source: Trysor report entitled 'Glanllyn, Rhydlewis Ceredigion Historic Environment Appraisal' by Jenny Hall and Paul Sambrook, published February 2014
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 11th March 2019