From Mynydd Epynt in the north to the great ridges of the Beacons in the south this is still a rural area of scattered upland communities, divided by the kinder landscape of the Usk valley.
In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign almost everyone outside the town of Brecon worked on the land or in related jobs.

Some of the rural communities in the area may not appear to have changed all that much in the Victorian years, but the lives of the local people did.

The old county town of Brecon saw many changes in the Victorian period. Transport links like the canal and then later the railway meant new opportunities, but they also brought in cheaper goods which were a threat to local tradesmen and women.

Choose from the topics below to explore some of these changes:
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