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The waterwheel, which produced power for Garnant Colliery, Cwmamman.
Probably one of the oldest mines in the area, it was also known as Pwll Perkins after Perkins and Sons the onetime owners.
Later Mr. David Pugh, M.P. who was chief shareholder of the Garnant Colliery Co, purchased it.
At around 5am on the16th January
1884 and a serious accident occurred at this colliery, when ten men going down to work met their death. The first five trips
of forty men had been lowered safely but it was the next trip that proved fatal
to those ten unfortunate miners. Normally not more than eight men were allowed
to descend in the cage at one time, but on this morning ten men crowded into the
cage on its fatal trip. They had gone down many yards when the wire rope to
which the cage was attached snapped, and plunged to the bottom of the shaft 225
feet below.
An official was prosecuted for negligence regarding this particular
accident but it seems the mine owners themselves went unpunished.
At the time of the disaster the mine was owned by David Pugh, M.P. for Cardiganshire.
The men had arranged to start their shift before time so that they could attend a
funeral after their early finish.
The dead were;
David Roberts, Brynaman, 37 years old, married with five children. Thomas Bevan, Cwmaman, 23 years old, married with three children. William Lake, Cross Inn, 30 years old, married with three children. Thomas. Michael, Cwmaman, 26 years old, married. John Evan Jones, Cwmaman, 31 years old, single. John D. James, Cwmaman, 22 years old, single. Evan Roberts, Brynaman, 16 years old. Thomas Roberts, Brynaman, 14 years old, (brother of Evan.) Daniel Williams, Cwmaman, 14 years old. Edward Morgan, Brynaman, 14 years old.
A more detailed account of this event can be found at http://www.cwmammanhistory.co.uk/Garnant_Colliery_Disaster/index.html