The nearby country house is Gregynog Hall, which dates from 1840; in the 19th century it was the seat of the Blayney (Blaenau, originally) Hanbury-Tracy families and became the centre of Welsh cultural life in the 20th century under Miss Margaret and Miss Gwendoline Davies, who had inherited the fortune of their grandfather David Davies of Llandinam.

The Brook, known as the Bechan in Welsh, is an eventual tributary of the Severn and provided power for the local Sawmill, now owned by Coed Cymru.

The latter decades of the twentieth century saw an expansion of the population of the village with many houses and bungalows being built in the low-lying fields and being given Welsh names (e.g."Tan-yr-Eglyws").

The presence of the local primary school, Ysgol Rhiw Bechan, for the area as well as the Village Community Hall are attractions to outsiders to settle.

One of oldest buildings is the Old School House, also known as "Tithe Barn", now divided into two homes, located alongside the remains of a medieval fort with earthworks near the Bechan brook.