Barry, Wales
Encyclopedia
Barry is a town
and community
in the Vale of Glamorgan
in Wales
. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel
less than 7 miles (11.3 km) south-southwest of Cardiff
, the capital city
of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort
, with attractions including several beach
es and the Barry Island Pleasure Park
. Once a small village, Barry has absorbed its larger neighbouring villages of Cadoxton
and Barry Island
.
The current population of Barry is 47,863, and the town is ranked as the fifth largest urban area in Wales.
or Middle Stone Age
microlith
flint tools have been found at Friars Point on Barry Island
and near Wenvoe
and Neolithic
or New Stone Age polished stone axe-heads were discovered in St. Andrews Major
. A cinerary urn (pottery urn buried with cremation ashes) was found on Barry Island during excavations of Bronze Age
barrows
and two more were found in a barrow at Cold Knap Point. A large defended enclosure or Iron Age
promontory hillfort was located at the Bulwarks at Porthkerry and there was evidence of the existence of an early Iron Age farmstead during construction of Barry College
off Colcot Road.
In Roman times
farmsteads existed on the site of Barry Castle
and Biglis and there were verbal reports of discovery of a cemetery including lead coffins with scallop-shell decoration. Both St. Baruc's Chapel and St. Nicholas
Church have re-used Roman bricks and tiles incorpoarated in their building fabric and a Roman villa
was discovered in Llandough
. In 1980 a Roman building consisting of 22 rooms and cellars in four ranges around a central courtyard was excavated at Glan-y-môr and is believed to be a third century building associated with naval activity, maybe a supply depot.
The Viking
s launched raids in the area and Barry Island was known to be a raider base in 1087. Flat Holm
and Steep Holm
islands in the Bristol Channel
have their name Holm name derived from a Scandinavian word for an island in an estuary. The excavation of the Glan-y-môr site revealed the site had been reused in the 6th and 7th century and also between AD 830 and 950 as a dry stone
sub-rectangular building with a turf
or thatched
roof.
The main feature of the area at this time was the island in the Bristol Channel, separated from the mainland by a tidal estuary
. It is described in Giraldus Cambrensis
or Gerald of Wales' Itinerarium Cambriae ("Journey through Wales", 1191). He states that Barry derives its name from St. Baruc whose remains are deposited in a chapel on the island. The local noble family who owned the island and the adjoining estates took the name of de Barri
from the island.
Following the Norman conquest of England
the area was divided into manors
with the Barry area split into two large lord
ships, Penmark
and Dinas Powys
. Penmark was split into the sub-manors of Fonmon, West Penmark and Barry. Dinas Powys was split into the sub-manors of Cadoxton
and Uchelolau (Highlight). The sub-manor of Barry was granted by the de Umfraville
family to the de Barri family and the seat of the manor was Barry Castle, located on high ground overlooking the Bristol Channel, a site occupied in Roman times by a native homestead. The castle
was a small fortified manor house, built to replace an earlier earthwork. By the late 13th century the castle had two stone buildings on the east and west sides of a courtyard. Early in the 14th century the castle was strengthened by the addition of a large hall and gatehouse on its south side, the ruins of which are all that survive today. By now Barry had grown into a village and port
with its own church and watermill
but in the 14th century its population was drastically reduced by the Black Death
and the consequences of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
. It took the population some 300 years to recover and once more hold the title of village, essentially a sparsely populated area with a few scattered farms and much of the land a marsh that a small river flowed through. By 1622 the pattern of fields, where enclosure was almost complete, around Barry village was pretty much as it was to remain until the growth of the modern town. According to the 1673 Hearth-Tax
list the parish contained thirteen houses.
By 1871 the population of Barry was over the 100 mark there being 21 buildings, the new estate-owning Romilly family being involved in the build up of the village but it remained a largely agricultural community. It grew when it was developed as a coal
port in the 1880s. The coal trade was growing faster than the facilities at Tiger Bay
in Cardiff
ever could and so a group of colliery owners formed the Barry Railway Company
and chose to build the docks
at Barry. Work commenced in 1884 and the first dock basin was opened in 1889 to be followed by two other docks and extensive port installations. The Barry Railway brought coal down from the South Wales Valleys
to the new docks whose trade grew from one million tons in the first year, to over nine million tons by 1903. The port was crowded with ships and had flourishing ship repair yards, cold stores, flour mills and an ice factory. By 1913, Barry was the largest coal exporting port in the world.
Behind the docks rose the terraced houses of Barry which, with Cadoxton, soon formed a sizeable town. The railways which had played a major part in the development of the dock did a great deal, too, to make Barry Island a popular resort.
Following the rise of diesel and electric power on the UK's railways, the marshalling yards at Barry Docks became the largest repository of steam engines awaiting scrapping in the UK. Eventually a significant proportion of the engines stored at the Woodham Brothers yard were saved by rail preservation organisations, although many were vandalised or looted by souvenir hunters.
During its industrial peak a number of ships sunk off the Barry coast.
Barry is currently home to roughly 50,000 people. It is the administrative centre of the Vale of Glamorgan
, and home to Barry Town F.C.
.
The road from Bonvilston was originally the B4266, as only Pontypridd Road within the town still is, and the road from Highlight Park right through the Vale to Bridgend
was the B4265, as beyond Cardiff International Airport
it still is. Since the 1970s, parts of these roads are numbered A4226, with the result that the A4226 radiates from Weycock Cross roundabout
in three directions.
The town is often associated with Woodham Brothers scrapyard, a business that helped over 200 historic steam locomotive
s survive into preservation.
Although still a port, Barry is more of a manufacturing town and as a service centre for the Vale of Glamorgan
. Barry Docks and the adjoining industrial area form the largest employment centre in the town. The docks, whose road links were dramatically improved with the opening of the Docks Link Road in 1981, now have direct road access with the M4 motorway
. The docks can handle vessels up to 23,000 tonnes and the first-class tidal position close to the deep-water channel of the Severn Estuary
, allows for regular scheduled sailings. With its extensive transit sheds, warehouses and open storage, the docks are well equipped to handle bulk cargoes for which the batteries of high capacity grab cranes are invaluable. Two roll on/roll off berths are available and have been extensively used by routes to Ireland and West Africa
. These and the other port facilities have seen an increasing variety of traffic in recent years. The town is famous for its working class
roots and background and has a thriving town council
which is controlled by the Labour Party
.
The great majority of industrial firms are located in the dock area. By far the largest are the chemical producing concerns such as Cabot Carbon
and Dow Corning
who have just completed the development of the largest silicones plant in Europe. Other main employers in Barry Docks are Jewson Builders' Merchants
, Western Welding and Engineering, Bumnelly, Rank
Hovis
and, of course, Associated British Ports Holdings
who, since 1982 have run the docks as successors of the British Transport Docks Board.
To the west of Barry is Porthkerry Park
. This is a large area of open space, with woodlands, streams, a few modern attractions and access to a pebbly beach. In the park is the Barry Railway Company
viaduct with 13 arched spans standing 110 ft high. The Barry Railway reopened in September 2006 and provides a scenic view and link to towns such as Llantwit Major
.
The Barry Island peninsula was an island
until the 1880s when it was linked to the mainland as the town of Barry expanded. This was partly due to the opening of Barry Dock by the Barry Railway Company. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to form Barry Island.
There is a railway station still to access the island at Barry Docks
, there is also a heritage railway
station which still homes original refurbished steam passenger trains. The railway is always open to the public and annually holds events involving a large steam engine
replica of Thomas the Tank Engine
.
Barry Island is now known for its beach
and Barry Island Pleasure Park
. From 1966, the island was home to a Butlins
Holiday camp, which was closed in 1987 and taken over by Majestic Holidays who renamed it Barry Island Resort. Between Butlins' closure and Majestic's reopening the camp was used as for filming scenes in the "Shangri-La" holiday camp from the Doctor Who
serial Delta and the Bannermen
. The camp closed in 1996 after Majestic had a disagreement with the local council, who refused an entertainments licence unless work was carried out to improve the now 30-year-old site. It was redeveloped for housing between 1997–2003 with the remaining two camp buildings and outdoor pool demolished in early 2005.
The preserved Vale of Glamorgan Railway
runs on Barry Island. From the late 1960s onwards, Woodhams Yard, Barry was home to hundreds of British Rail
steam locomotives that were due to be scrapped. Many were sold to preservation societies. By the late 1980s, two thirds had been saved for preservation.
The BBC3 sitcom Gavin & Stacey
was set and filmed in many areas of Barry and Barry Island.
was represented in parliament by one member, elected by the freeholders in the county. In 1885, the constituency was split into three with the creation of East Glamorganshire
, Mid Glamorganshire
and South Glamorganshire
. The Representation of the People Act 1918
created the Llandaff and Barry
constituency. Sir William Cope
(Conservative
) won the 1918 general election
. Labour regained the seat at the 1929 general election
when Charles Ellis Lloyd was returned but two years later lost the seat to the Conservatives' Patrick Munro.
After Munro's death in 1942 Cyril Lakin
won the by-election for the Conservatives. Arwyn Lynn Ungoed-Thomas
(Labour) won the seat at the 1945 general election
. The Llandaff and Barry constituency was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948
. and replaced by the Barry parliamentary constituency
. This seat was first contested in the United Kingdom general election, 1950
when Dorothy Rees
(Labour) was elected. She lost the seat to Sir Herbert Raymond Gower
(Conservative) at the 1951 general election
. He held the seat until its abolition in 1983.
It was replaced by the Vale of Glamorgan constituency
which Sir Herbert Raymond Gower (Conservative) won at the 1983 general election
. He remained as MP until his death in 1989. At the subsequent by-election the seat was won by John Smith
(Labour). At the 1992 general election
Walter Sweeney
(Conservative) won it by only 19 votes. That made it the most marginal seat in Britain. John Smith won it back at the 1997 general election
. In the 2010 General election there was a 6.1% swing from labour to conservative. This has now handed the seat to Alun Cairns a (Conservative) MP.
Barry is part of the Vale of Glamorgan Assembly constituency and part of the South Wales Central Assembly region. Jane Hutt
has been the Vale of Glamorgan Assembly member since the inception of the Welsh Assembly
.
by Royal Charter
in September 1939. The Borough was the successor to Barry and Cadoxton Local Board (1888–1894) and Barry Urban District Council (1894–1939). The area covered by the borough comprised Barry, Cadoxton-juxta-Barry, Merthyr Dyfan and parts of Penmark, Porthkerry and Sully. In 1974, it was abolished and its functions taken over by the Vale of Glamorgan District Council and South Glamorgan County Council.
The local council, Barry Town Council, is the largest town council in Wales. Recently it has given Olympic Silver Medalist David Davies freedom of the town, the first freedom granted since 1958. The current mayor is Stuart Egan who represents Butrills Ward. The town council is controlled by Labour.
The current local unitary authority, created in 1995, is the Vale of Glamorgan Council
which has its administrative headquarters in Barry. There are 23 wards electing 47 councillors which comprise Baruc (Barry) (2 councillors), Buttrills (Barry) (2), Cadoc
(Barry) (3), Castleland (Barry) (2), Court (Barry) (2), Gibbonsdown (Barry) (2), Dyfan (Barry) (2), Illtyd (Barry) (3), Cowbridge
(3), Dinas Powys
(4), Llandough
(1), Llandow Ewenny
(1), Llantwit Major
(4), Cornerswell (Penarth) (2), Plymouth (Penarth) (2), Stanwell (Penarth) (2), St. Augustines (Penarth) (2), Peterston-super-Ely
(1), Rhoose
(2), St Athan
(1), St Brides Major
(1), Sully
(2), Wenvoe
(1).
and Wales, Barry experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters, often high winds. It is amongst the sunnier of Welsh locations, due to its Southerly and Coastal position. The nearest official weather observation station is at Rhoose Airport, about 3 miles west of the town centre.
Barry has four secondary schools. Since 1993, Bryn Hafren and Barry Comprehensive Schools have worked together to provide the co-educational Barry Sixth Form.
The main forms of public transport in the town are bus
and rail. Barry is served by Cardiff Bus
which operates services to Llantwit Major
, Penarth
, Cardiff International Airport
and Cardiff City Centre
as well as operating town circular services. Barry's King's Square bus station
is located on King's Square
in the town centre. The A4050 road
connects Barry to Culverhouse Cross Interchange
and the rest of West Cardiff.
There are 4 railway stations in the town: Barry
, Barry Docks
, Barry Island
and Cadoxton
. These are operated and served by Arriva Trains Wales
and are on the Valley Lines
network, a commuter rail
network focused on Cardiff. Frequent services operate westbound to Bridgend
via Llantwit Major
and Rhoose Cardiff International Airport
, and eastbound to Cardiff Queen Street
via Dinas Powys
, Cardiff Grangetown
and Cardiff Central
. The latter service can continue to either Merthyr Tydfil
, Pontypridd
and/or Aberdare
.
Barry is located less than 3 miles (4 kilometres) east of Cardiff International Airport
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
in the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
less than 7 miles (11.3 km) south-southwest of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, the capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
, with attractions including several beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es and the Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales. The park opens annually at weekends from Easter onwards and daily during the school summer holidays, until the first weekend...
. Once a small village, Barry has absorbed its larger neighbouring villages of Cadoxton
Cadoxton, Vale of Glamorgan
Cadoxton is a district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Cadoxton was once originally its own village, separate from Barry. It grew up around Saint Cadoc's parish church, which survives.The area is served by Cadoxton railway station- History :...
and Barry Island
Barry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)
Barry Island is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc...
.
The current population of Barry is 47,863, and the town is ranked as the fifth largest urban area in Wales.
Early history
The area now occupied by Barry has seen human activity in many periods of history. MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
or Middle Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
microlith
Microlith
A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
flint tools have been found at Friars Point on Barry Island
Barry Island
Barry Island may refer to:*Barry Island , Wales*Barry Island , Antarctica...
and near Wenvoe
Wenvoe
Wenvoe is a Welsh village between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby is the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse Cross in the suburbs of Cardiff.-History:...
and Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
or New Stone Age polished stone axe-heads were discovered in St. Andrews Major
St. Andrews Major
St. Andrew's Major is a village and parish in the Vale of Glamorgan, between Barry and Cardiff in south-eastern Wales.The village has a church which is over 600 years old, a pub and a primary school. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew, and is in the Benefice of St...
. A cinerary urn (pottery urn buried with cremation ashes) was found on Barry Island during excavations of Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
barrows
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
and two more were found in a barrow at Cold Knap Point. A large defended enclosure or Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
promontory hillfort was located at the Bulwarks at Porthkerry and there was evidence of the existence of an early Iron Age farmstead during construction of Barry College
Barry College
Barry College is a Further Education college in Barry, Wales which takes around 10000 students per year. It is partnered with the University of Glamorgan. Barry College offers many courses, including courses in: Languages; Hairdressing and Beauty; Electrical Engerneering; and Computing courses...
off Colcot Road.
In Roman times
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
farmsteads existed on the site of Barry Castle
Barry Castle
Barry Castle is a small Grade II* listed ruined two-storey gatehouse with the adjacent walls of a hall located in the Romilly district of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales...
and Biglis and there were verbal reports of discovery of a cemetery including lead coffins with scallop-shell decoration. Both St. Baruc's Chapel and St. Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
Church have re-used Roman bricks and tiles incorpoarated in their building fabric and a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
was discovered in Llandough
Llandough
Llandough is a village and southern suburb of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.- Location :...
. In 1980 a Roman building consisting of 22 rooms and cellars in four ranges around a central courtyard was excavated at Glan-y-môr and is believed to be a third century building associated with naval activity, maybe a supply depot.
The Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s launched raids in the area and Barry Island was known to be a raider base in 1087. Flat Holm
Flat Holm
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
and Steep Holm
Steep Holm
Steep Holm is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively, it forms part of North Somerset...
islands in the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
have their name Holm name derived from a Scandinavian word for an island in an estuary. The excavation of the Glan-y-môr site revealed the site had been reused in the 6th and 7th century and also between AD 830 and 950 as a dry stone
Dry stone
Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their unique construction method, which is characterized by the presence of a load-bearing facade of carefully selected interlocking...
sub-rectangular building with a turf
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
or thatched
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roof.
Medieval Barry
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
. It is described in Giraldus Cambrensis
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
or Gerald of Wales' Itinerarium Cambriae ("Journey through Wales", 1191). He states that Barry derives its name from St. Baruc whose remains are deposited in a chapel on the island. The local noble family who owned the island and the adjoining estates took the name of de Barri
De Barry Family
The de Barry family is an ancient family of Cambro-Norman origins which once had extensive land holdings in Wales and County Cork, Ireland. The founder of the family was a knight who assited in the Norman Conquest of England and Wales during the 11th century...
from the island.
Following the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
the area was divided into manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
with the Barry area split into two large lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
ships, Penmark
Penmark
Penmark is a rural village south-west of Barry near Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales. The village is a parish and is of a distinct narrow shape. It has a parish church along the main road running through the village. It is also home to the Penmark United Under 15's football team...
and Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age...
. Penmark was split into the sub-manors of Fonmon, West Penmark and Barry. Dinas Powys was split into the sub-manors of Cadoxton
Cadoxton, Vale of Glamorgan
Cadoxton is a district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Cadoxton was once originally its own village, separate from Barry. It grew up around Saint Cadoc's parish church, which survives.The area is served by Cadoxton railway station- History :...
and Uchelolau (Highlight). The sub-manor of Barry was granted by the de Umfraville
Umfraville
Umfraville, the name of an English baronial family, derived from Amfreville in Normandy. Members of this family obtained lands in Northumberland, including Redesdale and Prudhoe, from the Norman kings, and a later member, Gilbert de Umfraville , married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm, earl of Angus,...
family to the de Barri family and the seat of the manor was Barry Castle, located on high ground overlooking the Bristol Channel, a site occupied in Roman times by a native homestead. The castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
was a small fortified manor house, built to replace an earlier earthwork. By the late 13th century the castle had two stone buildings on the east and west sides of a courtyard. Early in the 14th century the castle was strengthened by the addition of a large hall and gatehouse on its south side, the ruins of which are all that survive today. By now Barry had grown into a village and port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
with its own church and watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
but in the 14th century its population was drastically reduced by the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
and the consequences of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. It took the population some 300 years to recover and once more hold the title of village, essentially a sparsely populated area with a few scattered farms and much of the land a marsh that a small river flowed through. By 1622 the pattern of fields, where enclosure was almost complete, around Barry village was pretty much as it was to remain until the growth of the modern town. According to the 1673 Hearth-Tax
Chimney money
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth or family unit. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area....
list the parish contained thirteen houses.
Industrial history
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
port in the 1880s. The coal trade was growing faster than the facilities at Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. It was re-branded as Cardiff Bay following the building of the Cardiff Barrage which dams the tidal rivers Ely and Taff to create a body of water.-History:...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
ever could and so a group of colliery owners formed the Barry Railway Company
Barry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
and chose to build the docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
at Barry. Work commenced in 1884 and the first dock basin was opened in 1889 to be followed by two other docks and extensive port installations. The Barry Railway brought coal down from the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
to the new docks whose trade grew from one million tons in the first year, to over nine million tons by 1903. The port was crowded with ships and had flourishing ship repair yards, cold stores, flour mills and an ice factory. By 1913, Barry was the largest coal exporting port in the world.
Behind the docks rose the terraced houses of Barry which, with Cadoxton, soon formed a sizeable town. The railways which had played a major part in the development of the dock did a great deal, too, to make Barry Island a popular resort.
Following the rise of diesel and electric power on the UK's railways, the marshalling yards at Barry Docks became the largest repository of steam engines awaiting scrapping in the UK. Eventually a significant proportion of the engines stored at the Woodham Brothers yard were saved by rail preservation organisations, although many were vandalised or looted by souvenir hunters.
During its industrial peak a number of ships sunk off the Barry coast.
Modern times
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
, and home to Barry Town F.C.
Barry Town F.C.
Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated...
.
The road from Bonvilston was originally the B4266, as only Pontypridd Road within the town still is, and the road from Highlight Park right through the Vale to Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
was the B4265, as beyond Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
it still is. Since the 1970s, parts of these roads are numbered A4226, with the result that the A4226 radiates from Weycock Cross roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
in three directions.
The town is often associated with Woodham Brothers scrapyard, a business that helped over 200 historic steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s survive into preservation.
Although still a port, Barry is more of a manufacturing town and as a service centre for the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
. Barry Docks and the adjoining industrial area form the largest employment centre in the town. The docks, whose road links were dramatically improved with the opening of the Docks Link Road in 1981, now have direct road access with the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
. The docks can handle vessels up to 23,000 tonnes and the first-class tidal position close to the deep-water channel of the Severn Estuary
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
, allows for regular scheduled sailings. With its extensive transit sheds, warehouses and open storage, the docks are well equipped to handle bulk cargoes for which the batteries of high capacity grab cranes are invaluable. Two roll on/roll off berths are available and have been extensively used by routes to Ireland and West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. These and the other port facilities have seen an increasing variety of traffic in recent years. The town is famous for its working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
roots and background and has a thriving town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
which is controlled by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates in four segments: the Carbon Black Business, the Metal Oxides Business, the Supermetals Business, and the Specialty Fluids Business. Cabot's headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts...
and Dow Corning
Dow Corning
Dow Corning is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, USA. Dow Corning specializes in silicon and silicone-based technology, offering more than 7,000 products and services...
who have just completed the development of the largest silicones plant in Europe. Other main employers in Barry Docks are Jewson Builders' Merchants
Jewson
Jewson is one of the largest chain of British general builders' merchants, selling to small building contractors and the general public with over 500 branches across the country....
, Western Welding and Engineering, Bumnelly, Rank
RHM
RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products...
Hovis
Hovis
Hovis is a UK brand of flour and bread, owned by Premier Foods. The brand, which began in 1886, ended up as part of Rank Hovis McDougall in 1962 after a succession of mergers. RHM, whose bread making division has been known as British Bakeries since 1955, also owns the Mother's Pride and Nimble...
and, of course, Associated British Ports Holdings
Associated British Ports Holdings
Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd owns and operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25 per cent of the UK's sea-borne trade...
who, since 1982 have run the docks as successors of the British Transport Docks Board.
To the west of Barry is Porthkerry Park
Porthkerry Park
Porthkerry Park is a large, public country park on the coast of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It has fields, extensive woodland and nature trails, cliff-top pathways, a pebble-stone beach, and a small golf course...
. This is a large area of open space, with woodlands, streams, a few modern attractions and access to a pebbly beach. In the park is the Barry Railway Company
Barry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
viaduct with 13 arched spans standing 110 ft high. The Barry Railway reopened in September 2006 and provides a scenic view and link to towns such as Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...
.
Barry Island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
until the 1880s when it was linked to the mainland as the town of Barry expanded. This was partly due to the opening of Barry Dock by the Barry Railway Company. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to form Barry Island.
There is a railway station still to access the island at Barry Docks
Barry Docks railway station
Barry Docks Railway Station is a railway station serving the town of Barry in South Wales.More centrally located than Barry station, it is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line from 12 km south of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend and Barry Island.It was built after the Barry Railway Company...
, there is also a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
station which still homes original refurbished steam passenger trains. The railway is always open to the public and annually holds events involving a large steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
replica of Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
.
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
and Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales. The park opens annually at weekends from Easter onwards and daily during the school summer holidays, until the first weekend...
. From 1966, the island was home to a Butlins
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
Holiday camp, which was closed in 1987 and taken over by Majestic Holidays who renamed it Barry Island Resort. Between Butlins' closure and Majestic's reopening the camp was used as for filming scenes in the "Shangri-La" holiday camp from the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Delta and the Bannermen
Delta and the Bannermen
-Preproduction:*This was the first three-part story since Planet of Giants , not counting the 3 x 45 minute episodes of The Two Doctors, which had been broadcast two years previously, and the first intended to be this length....
. The camp closed in 1996 after Majestic had a disagreement with the local council, who refused an entertainments licence unless work was carried out to improve the now 30-year-old site. It was redeveloped for housing between 1997–2003 with the remaining two camp buildings and outdoor pool demolished in early 2005.
Vale of Glamorgan Railway
The Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales...
runs on Barry Island. From the late 1960s onwards, Woodhams Yard, Barry was home to hundreds of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
steam locomotives that were due to be scrapped. Many were sold to preservation societies. By the late 1980s, two thirds had been saved for preservation.
The BBC3 sitcom Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
was set and filmed in many areas of Barry and Barry Island.
UK parliamentary constituency
From the 1536 Act of Union, GlamorganGlamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
was represented in parliament by one member, elected by the freeholders in the county. In 1885, the constituency was split into three with the creation of East Glamorganshire
East Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)
East Glamorganshire was a parliamentary constituency in Glamorganshire, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:...
, Mid Glamorganshire
Mid Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Glamorganshire was a county constituency in Glamorganshire, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:...
and South Glamorganshire
South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Glamorganshire was a parliamentary constituency in Glamorganshire, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:...
. The Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
created the Llandaff and Barry
Llandaff and Barry (UK Parliament constituency)
Llandaff and Barry was a county constituency centred on the towns of Llandaff and Barry in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
constituency. Sir William Cope
William Cope, 1st Baron Cope
William Cope, 1st Baron Cope , known as Sir William Cope, Bt, between 1928 and 1945, was a Welsh Conservative Party politician, who was also notable as an international rugby union player for Wales...
(Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
) won the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
. Labour regained the seat at the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
when Charles Ellis Lloyd was returned but two years later lost the seat to the Conservatives' Patrick Munro.
Cyril Lakin
Cyril Harry Alfred Lakin was a Welsh politician and farmer who was the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Llandaff and Barry in South Wales...
won the by-election for the Conservatives. Arwyn Lynn Ungoed-Thomas
Lynn Ungoed-Thomas
Arwyn Lynn Ungoed-Thomas , known as Lynn Ungoed-Thomas, was a Welsh Labour Party politician and British judge.-Biography:...
(Labour) won the seat at the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
. The Llandaff and Barry constituency was abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948
Representation of the People Act 1948
The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections...
. and replaced by the Barry parliamentary constituency
Barry (UK Parliament constituency)
Barry was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
. This seat was first contested in the United Kingdom general election, 1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
when Dorothy Rees
Dorothy Rees
Dame Dorothy Mary Rees DBE was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, and was briefly a Member of Parliament ....
(Labour) was elected. She lost the seat to Sir Herbert Raymond Gower
Raymond Gower
Sir Raymond Gower was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for 38 years.Born in Neath, Gower was educated at Neath, Cardiff High School and University College, Cardiff...
(Conservative) at the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
. He held the seat until its abolition in 1983.
It was replaced by the Vale of Glamorgan constituency
Vale of Glamorgan (UK Parliament constituency)
Vale of Glamorgan is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
which Sir Herbert Raymond Gower (Conservative) won at the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. He remained as MP until his death in 1989. At the subsequent by-election the seat was won by John Smith
John Smith (Welsh politician)
John William Patrick Smith is a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
(Labour). At the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
Walter Sweeney
Walter Sweeney
Walter Edward Sweeney is a British Conservative politician.-Member of Parliament:In 1992, Sweeney was elected MP for the Vale of Glamorgan by just 19 votes, defeating Labour's John Smith who had received the seat in a 1989 by-election...
(Conservative) won it by only 19 votes. That made it the most marginal seat in Britain. John Smith won it back at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. In the 2010 General election there was a 6.1% swing from labour to conservative. This has now handed the seat to Alun Cairns a (Conservative) MP.
Welsh Assembly
Jane Hutt
Jane Hutt AM is a Welsh Labour politician and a Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government. Hutt has represented the Vale of Glamorgan constituency since the National Assembly for Wales was established in 1999...
has been the Vale of Glamorgan Assembly member since the inception of the Welsh Assembly
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
.
Local councils
Barry was incorporated as a municipal boroughMunicipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in September 1939. The Borough was the successor to Barry and Cadoxton Local Board (1888–1894) and Barry Urban District Council (1894–1939). The area covered by the borough comprised Barry, Cadoxton-juxta-Barry, Merthyr Dyfan and parts of Penmark, Porthkerry and Sully. In 1974, it was abolished and its functions taken over by the Vale of Glamorgan District Council and South Glamorgan County Council.
The local council, Barry Town Council, is the largest town council in Wales. Recently it has given Olympic Silver Medalist David Davies freedom of the town, the first freedom granted since 1958. The current mayor is Stuart Egan who represents Butrills Ward. The town council is controlled by Labour.
The current local unitary authority, created in 1995, is the Vale of Glamorgan Council
Vale of Glamorgan Council
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It is run by the Conservative Party after the United Kingdom local elections, 2008, taking over the council from no overall control....
which has its administrative headquarters in Barry. There are 23 wards electing 47 councillors which comprise Baruc (Barry) (2 councillors), Buttrills (Barry) (2), Cadoc
Cadoc
Saint Cadoc , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning...
(Barry) (3), Castleland (Barry) (2), Court (Barry) (2), Gibbonsdown (Barry) (2), Dyfan (Barry) (2), Illtyd (Barry) (3), Cowbridge
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...
(3), Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age...
(4), Llandough
Llandough
Llandough is a village and southern suburb of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.- Location :...
(1), Llandow Ewenny
Ewenny
Ewenny is a village on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundary between the two. The nearest town of significant size is Bridgend, away.-Ewenny...
(1), Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...
(4), Cornerswell (Penarth) (2), Plymouth (Penarth) (2), Stanwell (Penarth) (2), St. Augustines (Penarth) (2), Peterston-super-Ely
Peterston-super-Ely
Peterston-super-Ely is a village in the Welsh county of the Vale of Glamorgan.As its name suggests, the village lies on the River Ely, on the other side of which is the Coryton estate. The local parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter...
(1), Rhoose
Rhoose
Rhoose is a village and community located near the sea in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry.The village is the location of Cardiff International Airport, formerly RAF Rhoose, a Holiday Park , some shops, two public houses , Rhoose Social Club, and an active Surf Life Saving Club Rhoose is...
(2), St Athan
St Athan
St Athan is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales.-History and amenities:The English name is a corruption of the Welsh female Saint Tathan, described by Iolo Morgannwg as the daughter of the King of Gwent. The village and parish church is dedicated to St Tathan. There are...
(1), St Brides Major
St Brides Major
St. Brides Major is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It has a population of 2,009.The village is the location of St. Bridget's church, the Fox & Hounds and the Farmer's Arms pubs, Pitcot Pool and St. Brides Primary School....
(1), Sully
Sully, Vale of Glamorgan
Sully is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales lying on the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles southwest of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.-Medieval Sully:...
(2), Wenvoe
Wenvoe
Wenvoe is a Welsh village between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby is the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse Cross in the suburbs of Cardiff.-History:...
(1).
Districts
- Barry IslandBarry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)Barry Island is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc...
- ButtrillsButtrillsButtrills is a northwestern-central district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, in south Wales. It is also a formal electoral ward of the Vale of Glamorgan...
- CadoxtonCadoxton, Vale of GlamorganCadoxton is a district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Cadoxton was once originally its own village, separate from Barry. It grew up around Saint Cadoc's parish church, which survives.The area is served by Cadoxton railway station- History :...
- ColcotColcotColcot is a northern district of Barry near Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan 11 miles outside Cardiff in South Wales.-History & Amenities:Colcot Primary School was built in 1952. Nearby areas include Highlight Park and Brynhill Golf Course....
- Coldbrook
- Cwm TalwgCwm TalwgCwm Talwg is a north-western district and large housing estate complex within the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan ten miles outside Cardiff in south Wales....
- GibbonsdownGibbonsdownGibbonsdown, colloquially known as 'Gibby', is a housing estate situated in the north east area of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Gibbonsdown borders Merthyr Dyfan to the northwest and Cadaxton to the southeast.-Crime:...
- Gladstone
- Highlight ParkHighlight ParkHighlight Park is a small district on the northern outskirts of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is a circular housing estate built in the 1970s by Wimpy Homes. The area has a Tesco supermarket, a chemist, a community centre, a doctors' surgery and a fire station which was built...
- Holton
- Jenner ParkJenner ParkJenner Park is a stadium in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.It is the home of football club, Barry Town. It has an athletics track on the outside.'Breakaway' club Barry FC plays several home matches at the venue...
- Merthyr DyfanMerthyr DyfanMerthyr Dyfan or Dyfan is a northeastern suburb district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, in south Wales, formerly an independent medieval village and reputedly the oldest Christian site in Wales. It is also a traditional parish and a formal electoral ward of the Vale of Glamorgan. It borders...
- Palmerstown
- Pencoedre Village
- Romilly
Climate
As with the rest of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and Wales, Barry experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters, often high winds. It is amongst the sunnier of Welsh locations, due to its Southerly and Coastal position. The nearest official weather observation station is at Rhoose Airport, about 3 miles west of the town centre.
The arts
- The 2011 film SubmarineSubmarine (2010 film)Submarine is a 2010 coming-of-age comedy-drama film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. The film was written and directed by Richard Ayoade and stars Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine...
, although set in SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
was mostly filmed in Barry. - Barry hosted the National Eisteddfod of WalesNational Eisteddfod of WalesThe National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
in 1920 and 1968. - The Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Delta and the BannermenDelta and the Bannermen-Preproduction:*This was the first three-part story since Planet of Giants , not counting the 3 x 45 minute episodes of The Two Doctors, which had been broadcast two years previously, and the first intended to be this length....
was set and filmed in Barry. - Several scenes of the Doctor Who episodes "The Empty ChildThe Empty Child"The Empty Child" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Doctor Dances", was broadcast on 28 May...
" and "The Doctor DancesThe Doctor Dances"The Doctor Dances" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story and saw Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, join the Doctor as a companion. The first part, "The Empty Child", was...
" were filmed at the Vale of Glamorgan RailwayVale of Glamorgan RailwayThe Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales...
sites at Plymouth Road and Barry Island in January 2005, - Gavin & StaceyGavin & StaceyGavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
is partly set and filmed in and around Barry. - There is a Community Arts Centre being developed Named 'Canolfan Porthceri Centre', this is being developed within the building and grounds of Porthkerry Road Methodist Church, due to the Methodist Church Moving to new premises within the Waterfront Development.
Secondary schools
- Barry Comprehensive SchoolBarry Comprehensive SchoolBarry Comprehensive School is a secondary school for boys aged 11–18, situated opposite Highlight Park in the town of Barry, in Wales. Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School is the partner girls' school that also provides a mixed sixth form for both schools....
– boys 11–16, mixed 16–18 - Bryn Hafren Comprehensive SchoolBryn Hafren Comprehensive SchoolBryn Hafren Comprehensive School, also referred to as Bryn Hafren School, is located in Merthyr Dyfan on the outskirts of the town of Barry near Cardiff, in Wales and was opened in 1971...
– girls 11–16, mixed 16–18 - St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, BarrySt Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, BarrySt Richard Gwyn Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic comprehensive secondary school situated in Barry, Wales, Vale of Glamorgan.It is named after the Welsh martyr St. Richard Gwyn. It is co-educational, and educates boys and girls from 11-16 years...
– mixed 11–16 - Ysgol Gyfun Bro MorgannwgYsgol Gyfun Bro MorgannwgYsgol Gyfun Bro Morgannwg is a Welsh medium comprehensive school in the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, on the coast of south Wales. It is located adjacent to Barry Hospital....
– Welsh-medium schoolWelsh medium educationEducation delivered through the medium of the Welsh language is known as Welsh medium education .Welsh medium education should be distinguished from the teaching of Welsh as an academic subject. Welsh as a subject is taught as first language in Welsh medium schools...
, mixed 11–18
Primary schools
Primary education (5–11) in Barry is provided by a number of community, Welsh-language, and faith-based schools spread throughout the town.- All Saints Church in WalesChurch in WalesThe Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
Primary School - Barry Island Primary School
- Cadoxton Primary School
- Colcot Primary School
- Gladstone Primary School
- High Street Primary School
- Holton Primary School
- Jenner Park Primary School
- Oakfield Primary School
- Palmerston Primary School
- Romilly Primary School
- St Helen's RC Infants School (5–7)
- St Helens's RC Junior School (7–11)
- Ysgol Gwaun y Nant – Welsh-medium school
- Ysgol Sant Baruc – Welsh-medium school
- Ysgol Sant Curig – Welsh-medium school
Sport
- Barry Town F.C.Barry Town F.C.Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated...
- Barry FC
- Bryn Hill Golf Course
- Barry RFCBarry RFCBarry Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Barry in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues.....
- The Sea View RFC
Transport
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and rail. Barry is served by Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...
which operates services to Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast. A small stream, the Afon Col-huw, runs through the town.-Local government:...
, Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
, Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
and Cardiff City Centre
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
as well as operating town circular services. Barry's King's Square bus station
King's Square bus station
King's Square bus station is the bus station for Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located on King's Square in the town centre. It mainly handles Cardiff Bus services around the town and to neighbouring Cardiff.-Cardiff Bus:...
is located on King's Square
King's Square
King's Square is a town square in central Barry, Wales located at a central shopping point of Holton Road.The square was originally known as Town Hall Square after the Town Hall was opened in 1908...
in the town centre. The A4050 road
A4050 road
The A4050 road connects Barry, Vale of Glamorgan with Culverhouse Cross on the outskirts of Cardiff, Wales. It is approximately long.Wenvoe village lies along the road....
connects Barry to Culverhouse Cross Interchange
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...
and the rest of West Cardiff.
There are 4 railway stations in the town: Barry
Barry railway station
Barry railway station is one of 3 stations in the town of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line, which runs from Cardiff Central to Bridgend via Barry, Rhoose, and Llantwit Major...
, Barry Docks
Barry Docks railway station
Barry Docks Railway Station is a railway station serving the town of Barry in South Wales.More centrally located than Barry station, it is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line from 12 km south of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend and Barry Island.It was built after the Barry Railway Company...
, Barry Island
Barry Island railway station
Barry Island railway station is a railway station, fifteen kilometres south-west of Cardiff Central, serving Barry Island in Wales...
and Cadoxton
Cadoxton railway station
Cadoxton railway station is a railway station serving Cadoxton and Palmerstown near Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 10 km south of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend and Barry Island....
. These are operated and served by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
and are on the Valley Lines
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys....
network, a commuter rail
Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
network focused on Cardiff. Frequent services operate westbound to Bridgend
Bridgend railway station
Bridgend railway station is a mainline railway station serving the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It is located approximately halfway between Cardiff Central and Swansea at the point where the Maesteg Line diverges from the South Wales Main Line, and is the western terminus of the Vale of...
via Llantwit Major
Llantwit Major railway station
Llantwit Major railway station serves the small town of Llantwit Major in South Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line, 29 km west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry and Rhoose...
and Rhoose Cardiff International Airport
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Rhoose and Cardiff Airport. A dedicated shuttle bus connects this station with the airport terminal building....
, and eastbound to Cardiff Queen Street
Cardiff Queen Street railway station
Cardiff Queen Street railway station is Wales' second busiest railway station in Cardiff, Wales. It is one of 20 stations in the city and two in the city centre, the other being Cardiff Central...
via Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys railway station
Dinas Powys railway station is a railway station serving the village of Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 7 km south of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend and Barry Island....
, Cardiff Grangetown
Grangetown railway station
Grangetown railway station is a railway station serving the Grangetown district of Cardiff in Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 1 mile south west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry, Penarth and Barry Island....
and Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
. The latter service can continue to either Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil railway station
Merthyr Tydfil railway station is a railway station serving the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. It is the terminus of the Merthyr branch of the Merthyr Line. Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales...
, Pontypridd
Pontypridd railway station
Pontypridd railway station serves the town of Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines and is the main line station for the town.Until the 1930s, Pontypridd had another two stations...
and/or Aberdare
Aberdare railway station
Aberdare railway station is a railway station serving the town of Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is the terminus of the Aberdare branch of the Merthyr Line, 36 km north of...
.
Barry is located less than 3 miles (4 kilometres) east of Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
.
Nearby places
- Barry IslandBarry IslandBarry Island may refer to:*Barry Island , Wales*Barry Island , Antarctica...
, a peninsulaPeninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
forming part of the town of Barry - The BendricksThe Bendricks, Vale of GlamorganThe Bendricks is a stretch of coastline and an important paleontological site in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel between Barry and Sully at . It lies at the foreshore of the industrial port of Barry between the eastern breakwater of the...
, a rocky beach by the harbour - Sully IslandSully IslandSully Island is a small tidal island at the hamlet of Swanbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, four hundred and fifty metres off the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles south of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
, a small tidal islet a mile east of the harbour - SullySully, Vale of GlamorganSully is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales lying on the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles southwest of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.-Medieval Sully:...
, a village east of the town