Town History - Barry

• The town's name comes from St. Baruc, who drowned in the Bristol Channel and was buried in 'Baruc's Island', now called Barry Island.
  
• There are Bronze Age burial mounds at Cold Knap and in Friars Road.
  
• Barry's early years were troubled, with constant Viking raids, and in 1087 raiders even set up their own base on Barry Island itself!
  
• Later, the Normans came and divided the lands into manors and parishes. Barry became a sub-parish of Penmark and by the 12th and 13th centuries it had grown into a village and port with its own watermill, church and castle. Fragments of the castle, dating back to the 13th century, can be seen on the hill above Romilly Park.
  
• By the end of the 19th century, Cardiff had reached its coal exporting capacity and so Lord Bute levied an extra penny per ton for handling coal. Incensed by this, in 1889, a rival group of colliery and railway owners set up their own docks in Barry, leading to the saying that 'Barry was built for a penny'.
  
• The newly-found wealth of the town thanks to the docks created a fascinating jumble of architectural styles, from mock-Tudor to 1930s modernist buildings, and in time Barry grew to become the largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan.
  
• The coal industry came and went, but the town found a new lease of life in tourism based around nearby Barry Island, which is still an extremely popular resort for families.
  

• A wonderful way to discover more about Barry is on foot. Barry Town Trail links the town, to the waterfront and the Island and highlights places of interest along its 6 mile route.
  

• Two Merthyr Dyfan Cemetery guides provide thought-provoking historical snapshots of Barry over many generations. Discover the fascinating stories of the town's war heroes who were servicemen in the First World War and merchant navy seamen in the Second World War. The guides pay tribute to their memory and have been produced by the 'Friends of Merthyr Dyfan Cemetery'.
  

• The lives of ten remarkable people who were either born in Barry or lived in the town were commemorated with Blue Plaques in November 2009. Read about their achievements here.