Some Captured History of Glanamman and GarnantA Note from the Webmaster
"Y Garreg Fawr" on the Betws Mountain above Glanamman c.1993. Once a well known landmark and destination for Sunday walkers. Sometime ago, like many others nowadays, I tried tracing my family tree. I didn't get very far with it when I discovered that my Great Great Grandfather had died in a colliery accident back in 1884. I discovered that he, along with nine others, had met an untimely death when the rope holding the colliery cage broke and the cage plummeted to the bottom of the pit. The sadness of the event struck me deeply and I was determined to find out as much as possible about what had occurred. I found that it was difficult enough just trying to find out where the colliery was, with hearsay and misnomas adding to my confusion. Eventually, piece by piece, with a great deal of help from the National Library of Wales, Carmarthenshire Archives and from the few local people who had heard about the disaster, I was able to put together enough information to create a website. This website was intended as a memorial to the poor souls who had died and to be a reference point to anyone who had an interest in what I discovered was the Amman Valley's worst mining disaster. The website was successful in that people who saw it contacted me with more information and photographs of other items of local historical interest. Some of these items were unconnected to the colliery disaster, but deserved to be put into the public domain because of their character and probable rarity. Although I had no previous knowledge of the history of Glanamman and Garnant, my naive introduction to local history has filled me with an enthusiasm for investigating the past and an objective to preserve some of it for others who may share the same interest. I hope that in time, with the generous contributions that I receive from others, as well as through my own endeavours, this website will become an asset for the community and provide as much interest and pleasure to others, as I have had in putting it together. Dave Michael |
