Barry (; ; ) is a town and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

, Wales. It is on the north coast of the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

approximately south-southwest of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Barry is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Barry Island Pleasure Park. According to

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

2021 estimate data, the population of Barry was 56,605. The town of Barry has absorbed its larger neighbouring villages of Cadoxton and

Barry Island 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. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Channel, has the wor ...

. It grew significantly from the 1880s with the development of

Barry Docks Barry Docks () is a port facility in the town of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, a few miles southwest of Cardiff on the north shore of the Bristol Channel. The docks were opened in 1889 by David Davies and John Cory as an alternative to the co ...

, which, in 1913, was the largest coal port in the world.

Etymology

The origin of the town's name is disputed. It may derive from the sixth-century Saint

Baruc Baruc ( ; also known as Barruc, Barrog or Barry) was a 6th-century Welsh saint. Saint Baruc, who was a disciple of Saint Cadoc, forgot to bring the latter's reading matter with him on a journey from the island of Flat Holm. Cadoc sent him b ...

who was buried on Barry Island where a ruined chapel was dedicated to him. Alternatively, the name may derive from Welsh ', meaning "hill, summit". The name in Welsh includes the

definite article In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" ...

History

Early history

The area now occupied by Barry has seen human activity in many periods of history.

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

or Middle

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

microlith A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 60,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Austral ...

flint tools have been found at Friars Point on

and near Wenvoe and

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

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 The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

barrows and two more were found in a barrow at Cold Knap Point. A large defended enclosure or

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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 In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

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 incorporated in their building fabric and a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

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 Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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

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, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

sub-rectangular building with a

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

roof.

Medieval Barry

The main feature of the area at this time was the island in the Bristol Channel, separated from the mainland by a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

. It is described in Giraldus Cambrensis or Gerald of Wales' ("Journey through Wales", 1191). He states that Barry derives its name from St.

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 Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the area was divided into manors with the Barry area split into two large

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

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 ('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 A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

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 A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

but in the 14th century its population was drastically reduced by the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

and the consequences of the rebellion of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

. 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 A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is con ...

list the parish contained thirteen houses. Whitehouse Cottage, the oldest existing inhabited house in modern Barry, dates from the late 1500s with the east end of the building added in around 1600. It overlooks the sea at Cold Knap.

Industrial history

By 1871 the population of Barry was over 100, with 21 buildings, the new estate-owning Romilly family being involved in the buildup 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

ever could and so a group of colliery owners formed the

Barry Railway Company The Barry Railway Company was a railway and docks company in South Wales, first incorporated as the ''Barry Dock and Railway Company'' in 1884. It arose out of frustration among Rhondda coal owners at congestion and high charges at Cardiff Doc ...

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. Barry Council Office and Library was completed in 1908. Barry from air

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 helped make Barry Island a popular resort.

Barry Memorial Hall The Memo Arts Centre, formerly known as Barry Memorial Hall or Memorial Hall & Theatre, popularly known as The Memo, is a prominent venue in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, currently the "largest multi-arts venue in the Vale of Glamorgan, and only cine ...

on Gladstone Road was inaugurated in November 1932, and obtained its name to honour those locals who lost their lives in World War I. During its industrial peak a number of ships sank off the Barry coast.

Barry Scrapyard

Following the rise of diesel and electric power on the UK railways, the marshalling yards at Barry Docks became the largest repository of steam engines awaiting scrapping in the UK. Dai Woodham owned the Woodham Brothers Scrap yard and he allowed rail preservation organisations to buy back the locomotives at the scrap value, allowing around 200 of the 300 locomotives to be saved for future generations, although during the years of storage many were vandalised or looted by souvenir hunters. When interviewed just before his death, Woodham was reluctant to take full credit for this and pointed out that the town of Barry with its redundant sidings was the major factor in allowing these locomotives to be saved.

Modern times

Barry is the administrative centre of the

, and home to Barry Town United 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 Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

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 A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

in ''three'' directions. Although still a port, Barry is more of a manufacturing town and as a service centre for the

. 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 M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

. 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 The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

, allows for scheduled sailings. With its transit sheds, warehouses and open storage, the docks are equipped to handle bulk cargoes but with the scrapping of their former electric cranes, ships’ own derricks have to be used or cranes hired in by ABP as required. Two roll on/roll off berths are available and have been used by routes to Ireland and West Africa. As at January 2016, Intermodal rail freight traffic is being operated from No. 2 Dock. With a new presence on the Mole in No. 1 Dock and the provision of a concrete slipway from it, leisure rowing and dinghy sailing is available (2016). The town has a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

which is controlled by the Labour Party. The majority of industrial firms are located in the dock area. The largest are the chemical producing concerns such as Cabot Carbon and

Dow Corning Dow Corning Corporation, was an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States, and was originally established as a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Inc., Corning Incorporated. In 20 ...

who not long ago 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, and Associated British Ports Holdings who, since 1982 have run the docks as successors to the British Transport Docks Board. To the west of Barry is Porthkerry Park. This is a large area of open space, with woodlands, streams, and access to a pebbly beach. In the park is the former

viaduct with 13 arched spans standing 110 ft high. Following the closure of the Vale of Glamorgan line to passengers between Barry and Bridgend in 1964, it was reopened on 10 June 2005 and for most of its 19 miles, provides a scenic view and link to

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major () is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and ...

and beyond to Bridgend.

Barry Island

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 to access the island at

, there is also a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

station which houses refurbished steam passenger trains. The railway is open to the public and holds events involving a large

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

replica of

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

. Barry Island is now known for its beach and Barry Island Pleasure Park. From 1966, the island was home to a

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

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'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' 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 and 2003 with the remaining two camp buildings and outdoor pool demolished in early 2005. Watchtower Bay Barry

The preserved Vale of Glamorgan Railway runs on Barry Island. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...

'' was filmed in many areas of Barry and Barry Island, including establishments such as Marco's Café which feature in the show. Long-running medical drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' which is filmed in

, regularly films scenes in and around Barry Island.

Politics and administration

UK parliamentary constituency

From the 1536 Act of Union,

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

was represented in parliament by one member, from the constituency of Glamorganshire, elected by the freeholders in the county. In 1885, the constituency was split, with Barry represented by South Glamorganshire. The

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

created the Llandaff and Barry constituency. Sir William Cope (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

) 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 The Representation of the People Act 1948 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 65) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parlia ...

. and replaced by the Barry parliamentary constituency. This seat was first contested in the

1950 United Kingdom general election The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first to be held after a full term of a majority Labour Party (UK), Labour government. The general election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was also the first to be held following the a ...

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 resulted in the election of Alun Cairns, a Conservative MP who has held the seat until 2024.

Senedd (Welsh Parliament)

Barry is part of the Vale of Glamorgan Senedd constituency and part of the South Wales Central Senedd region. Jane Hutt of the Welsh Labour Party has been the assembly member since the inception of the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

Local councils

Barry was incorporated as a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

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 South Glamorgan County Council () was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1 ...

. The local council,

Barry Town Council Barry Town Council is an elected town council serving Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the largest towns in Wales. Functions The town council describes itself as the only elected body dedicated solely to the interests of Barry residents ...

, is the largest town council in Wales. It has given Olympic silver medalist David Davies freedom of the town, the first freedom granted since 1958. . The town council has no overall control with Labour, Plaid Cymru and Conservative councillors. The local unitary authority, created in 1995, is the

Vale of Glamorgan Council The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Subdivisions of Wales, Principal Areas of Wales. History The new Vale of Glamorgan Council unitary authority came into effect on 1 April 1996, following th ...

which has its administrative headquarters in Barry. There are 23 wards electing 47 councillors, including eight wards in Barry (electing 18 county councillors) which comprise

(2 councillors),

Buttrills Buttrills is a northwestern-central district of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, in south Wales. It is also an electoral ward of the Vale of Glamorgan, the population of which taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ...

(2),

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog (; also Modern Welsh: Catawg or Catwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the Celtic church as a centre of learning, wher ...

(3), Castleland (2),

Court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

(2), Gibbonsdown (2), Dyfan (2) and Illtyd (3).

Districts

Climate

As with the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

and Wales, Barry experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

with cool summers and mild winters, and 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 Cardiff Airport near Rhoose, about west of the town centre.

The arts

*Series 3–5 of '' Being Human'' (2010 on) was filmed in and around Barry Island, with much of the storyline referring to the town as "infested" with werewolves and vampires. * The 2011 film

Submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, although set in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

was mostly filmed in Barry. * Barry hosted the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

in 1920 and 1968. * The ''

'' serial '' Delta and the Bannermen'' was set and filmed in Barry. * Several scenes of the ''Doctor Who'' episodes " The Empty Child" and " The Doctor Dances" were filmed at the Vale of Glamorgan Railway sites at Plymouth Road and Barry Island in January 2005.as were the end-fight scenes from "

The Christmas Invasion "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute Television special, special episode of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appea ...

" in August 2005. * ''

'' is partly set and filmed in and around Barry. * Art Central, a modern art gallery run by the local council, was created in the Town Hall as part of the library redevelopment in 2006. *Watercolour artist Thomas Frederick Worrall lived in Barry from 1913 until his death in 1957. Several of his paintings of Barry and other areas in the Vale of Glamorgan are in the National Library of Wales. * Composer

Grace Williams Grace Mary Williams (19 February 1906 – 10 February 1977) was a Welsh composer, generally regarded as Wales's most notable female composer, and the first British woman to score a feature film. Early life Williams was born in Barry, Vale o ...

(1906 – 1977), generally regarded as Wales's most notable female composer, was born in Barry and lived there during her latter years. Her best known works include Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes and

Sea Sketches ''Sea Sketches'' is a Suite (music), suite of five movements for string orchestra, composed by Grace Williams in 1944, and dedicated to her parents. It is one of the composer's most popular works. Composition history Grace Williams composed ' ...

. * Memo Arts Centre on Gladstone Road is the largest arts centre in the Vale of Glamorgan. In addition to a programme of a range of live arts and entertainment, the Memo has a 4K Sony Digital Cinema with Dolby Surround Sound. The Memo's Cinema screens blockbusters, independent films and live streaming broadcasts such as National Theatre's NT Live shows. * The Small Space on Island Road is "The World's Smallest

Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and producti ...

". In addition to magic, the theatre also puts on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

performances and

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

Education

Secondary schools

Barry has four secondary schools. Since 1993, Bryn Hafren and Barry Comprehensive School have worked together to provide the co-educational Barry Sixth Form. In July 2018, as part of the 'Transforming Secondary Education in Barry' scheme, both Barry Comprehensive School and Bryn Hafren closed their doors to make way for two new mixed-sex secondary schools which opened in September 2018. The old Barry Comprehensive School site has now become Whitmore High School and Bryn Hafren has now become Pencoedtre High School. *Whitmore High School – mixed 11–18 *Pencoedtre High School – mixed 11–18 * St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School – mixed 11–16 * Ysgol Gyfun Bro Morgannwg – Welsh-medium school, 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.

Sport

* Barry Town F.C. * Barry RFC * Sea View RFC * Barry 40

Transport

The main forms of public transport in the town are bus and rail. Barry is served by Cardiff Bus which operates services to

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

, Cardiff International Airport and

Cardiff City Centre Cardiff city centre () is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Cardiff Cen ...

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 four railway stations in the town: Barry,

and Cadoxton. These are operated and served by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; ; ) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consisting of itself and its subsidiaries: Trans ...

and are on the Valley Lines network, a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

network focused on Cardiff. Services operate westbound to

via

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 Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and/or

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

. Barry is located less than east of Cardiff International Airport.

Nearby places

, now joined to the mainland by a causeway carrying a road and a railway line * The Bendricks, a rocky beach by the harbour * Sully Island, a small tidal islet a mile east of the harbour * Sully, a village east of the town

Notable people

:''See also :People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan'' * Gordon Love Bastian, hero in World War II *

(1906–1977), generally regarded as Wales's most notable female composer * Gwynfor Evans (1912–2005), Welsh nationalist politician, leader of

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

, was from Barry * Elfyn Richards (1914–1995), aeronautical and acoustical engineer, was born in Barry and educated at Barry Grammar School. * John Habakkuk (1915–2002), economic historian, was born in Barry and attended Barry County School * Irving Davies (1926–2002), choreographer, was born in Barry * Barnett Janner, Baron Janner (1892 –1982), lived in Barry, where his father had a furniture shop * Robert Tear (1939 - 2011), operatic tenor who regularly sang at many of the world's great opera houses *

Damian Green Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he s ...

(born 1956), Conservative politician, is from Barry *

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

(born 1961), 27th Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Barry, and migrated with her family to Australia, in 1966 * Derek Brockway (born 1967),

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

meteorologist and TV presenter, was born in Barry was educated at Barry Comprehensive School * Rhodri Williams (born 1968), sports journalist, is from Barry. * Gareth Jones (13 August 1905 – 12 August 1935), journalist * Derek Tapscott (30 June 1932 – 12 June 2008), Welsh international footballer * Bryn Merrick (12 October 1958 – 12 September 2015), musician * Gerran Howell (born 25 February 1991), actor, was educated at Barry Comprehensive School * Alan Evans (academic) (born 1952), neuroscientist, was born in Barry Dock and attended Barry Comprehensive School * Lee Selby (born 1987), boxer, former world champion * Andrew Selby (born 1988), boxer * Annes Elwy (born 1992)

Actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, went to school in Barry * Mike Bubbins (born 1972) Comedian and actor, born in Barry and attended Barry Comprehensive School * Richard Taylor (1981– 2004), skater, was from Barry

Freedom of the Town

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Barry.

Individuals

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Edgar Jones: 26 April 1950. * Sophie Ingle: 18 October 2018.

Military units

* RAF St Athan: 1959.

References

External links

Vale of Glamorgan Council

Barry coastguard team

Vale of Glamorgan Railway website.

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Barry and surrounding area
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Vale Of Glamorgan Seaside resorts in Wales Towns in the Vale of Glamorgan Populated coastal places in Wales Port cities and towns in Wales Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Wales