Working conditions were very poor in 19^th-century Wales, although it was the same all over Britain. It was discovered in the 19^th century that large numbers of children worked underground in mines that produced coal or were used to help in the manufacture of iron. There were more children working in south Wales than other areas of Britain. The work that children did was often dangerous. They would be sent to work at a very young age to help support their families. There were a number of different jobs that children did and they are outlined below.

Air-door keeper

Usually a young child who would be responsible for opening and closing the air doors in the mines to keep the mine ventilated and to allow the drams (carts) of coal to pass through on their way to the surface. They could be as young as five or six years old, they would sometimes fall asleep and could be injured or have their lunch of bread and cheeses taken by rats.

Stall boys

Usually a very young child of four to six years old would be taken to work by a parent and the child would help to put all the coal in the dram as this would mean that the amount of coal taken to the surface would increase and the parent would earn more money.

Drammer girls/haulier

These were usually older girls of 12 and above, who would fill and pull drams of coal to the surface. It would be done by tying a chain around her waist and they would be expected to make over 40 journeys a day. A haulier would be a boy, usually above the age of 14, who would do the same type of thing.

Wind way cutters

Generally these were young boys who would cut the ventilation shafts in the mines. They could be seriously injured or deformed due to the cramped conditions that they were often forced to work in.

Pullers up

Generally these were a young boy or girl between the ages of seven and 10, who would help the skilled worker called the puddler, by opening and closing the furnace door when required.

As the children were young they were often very scared. If their candle went out when they were working they often had to stay in the dark for long periods of time. They could even go hungry because if they fell asleep rats would steal their food. The children could be run over by drams, end up with a burn or even have to have limbs amputated because of accidents. Their growth was often stunted because they worked in small spaces and they even had lung diseases at a very early age.