Perhaps not the earliest but this is quite a detailed account that could
give further leads.
"Death Blast In Snowdonia T. Meirion Hughes ISBN 0-9524936-08"
This book tells the story of two wagon loads of Nitro which exploded near to
Llanberris.
A newspaper quotation says that the shock was felt in Caernarfon and Bangor
portions of body were found forty yards off and three quarrymen 300 yards
off were severely injured.
The Nitro was brought from Hamburg in Germany on the ship Heroine and
arrived in the Menai straits on 27th June 1869. Could this suggest that
Nitro was not available in England?
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