Crynant is a long village, lying on the narrow valley floor and lower slopes of Hirfynydd.

In the Middle Ages, there was a small monastic cell in Crynant where monks and other pilgrims would break their journeys.

Crynant remained a rural agricultural community of scattered farms until the discovery of coal in the 19th century.

It can still be seen at the site of the old Blaenant Colliery at the top end of Brynawel Pen Pentre, a terrace of old cottages which was the first street to be built in the village.

Men seeking work in the mines began arriving in Creunant, and the current village started taking shape, centred on the Square.

The end of coal mining changed the face of the village, the valley and the whole of the South Wales Coalfield.

The valley is beginning to develop from an economic depression brought with the end of industry, and services are limited.

Crynant Business Park has been established on the Treforgan Colliery site, enabling smaller companies to generate some employment for the community.

Both sides of the village used to be covered by farmed conifer forests, but these were removed by the Forestry Commission in order for native trees to grow.

It was previously referred to as the Black River due to its pollution by coal dust from the local mining industry.

The Gradon, on the main road slightly north of Creunant Business park, is the last remaining pub in the village.

The Welfare, a miners' working men's club, declined after the closure of the coal mines in the 1980s, and eventually closed.

During World War II, Crynant it was famous for the pantomimes which it produced every year and which toured the surrounding villages.