Crickhowell
Earning a living
  An accident at Brynmawr in 1869  
 

Across the mountain slopes to the south of Crickhowell men quarried limestone and mined for coal and iron ore.
Gunpowder was used to blast tons of rock out of the way so that the men could get at the material they wanted. This gunpowder was very useful but very dangerous.

  
  Picture of the scene from an old newspaper
 

The picture above was drawn by an artist who came to the scene of an accident at Brynmawr with a reporter for a local newspaper.

Apparently the accident was caused when a boy called Evan Evans went into the warehouse of the store of Messrs Watkins in Brynmawr. The candle he was carrying ignited the gunpowder and there was an explosion which killed poor Evan straight away.
The roof was blown off the store and many other buildings around were damaged. People in the streets were killed or injured by falling stones.
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