The 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 Docks by the Barry Railway Company. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to isolate Barry Island.
The area around Barry Island shows extensive evidence of human occupation. Mesolithic or Middle Stone Agemicrolith flint tools have been found at Friars Point on Barry Island and near Wenvoe,[3] and Neolithic or New Stone Age polished stone axe-heads were discovered in St. Andrews Major.[4] As the area was heavily wooded and movement would have been restricted, it is likely that people also came to what was to become Wales by boat, apparently from the Iberian Peninsula.[5] They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land.
These neolithiccolonists, who integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changed from being hunter-gatherers to settled farmers. They built the long barrows at St Lythans and Tinkinswood, which date to around 6,000 BP, only 3 miles (4.8km) and 4 miles (6.4km) to the north of Barry Island, respectively.[6]
In common with the people living all over Great Britain, over the following centuries the local population assimilated immigrants and exchanged ideas of the Bronze Age and Iron AgeCeltic cultures. Together with much of South Wales, Barry Island was settled by a CelticBritish tribe called the Silures. There have been five Bronze Age burial mounds, or cairns, recorded on Friars Point.[7]
Roman and medieval eras
Although the Roman occupation saw significant Romano-British settlements at both Barry and Llandough, there is little physical evidence of Roman activity on Barry Island itself. However, the island would flourish as a religious community, following the end of Roman rule.
The island is said to have got its current name in the 6th century when Cattwg Ddoeth (Saint Cadoc, an important tutor of many Welsh saints including Illtud) spent seven years living as a hermit on the nearby Ynys Echni (Flat Holm). Upon arrival at Ynys Echni, it was discovered that one of Cattwg's disciples had not brought all the texts that Cattwg required for his stay. Cattwg requested that this disciple travel back to the mainland to fetch them. The disciple, Barrwg drowned on this return journey, and was buried on the island that would become known as Ynys y Barri.[9][10]
The Vikings launched raids in the area and Barry Island was known to be a raider base in 1087.[11]
Gerallt Gymro
The beach at Whitmore Bay, looking west. Taken 2015.
The Norman/Welsh chronicler Father Gerallt Gymro (c.1146 – c.1223) described the origin of his family name in his The Itinerary of ArchbishopBaldwin through Wales (also known as The Journey through Wales). Gerallt Gymro, also known in French: Gerald de Barri, Latin: Giraldus Cambrensis and Gerald of Wales, wrote "Not far from Caerdyf (sic) is a small island situated near the shore of the Severn, called Barri, from St. Baroc, who formerly lived there, and whose remains are deposited in a chapel overgrown with ivy, having been transferred to a coffin. From hence a noble family, of the maritime parts of South Wales, who owned this island and the adjoining estates, received the name of de Barri."[12] Going on to describe the island's well,[13] he wrote: "It is remarkable that, in a rock near the entrance of the island, there is a small cavity, to which, if the ear is applied, a noise is heard like that of smiths at work, the blowing of bellows, strokes of hammers, grinding of tools, and roaring of furnaces; and it might easily be imagined that such noises, which are continued at the ebb and flow of the tides, were occasioned by the influx of the sea under the cavities of the rocks.
Local legend explains the phenomenon as the ghost of a local hero they call Benedict y Diffoddwr or in English 'Benedict the Fighter'. It is said that when his ship, the Tam Lyn, was overrun by pirating Spaniards he almost single-handedly fought and killed the entire body of pirates even after they had slaughtered his entire crew. He then managed to sail his ship back to port on his own where he was heralded as a hero. They say after many other voyages during which it is rumoured, he fought off many other pirates (source unverifiable), he eventually died when he was caught in a great storm on the coast, during which his ship was irreparably damaged and sank to the bottom of the ocean.[citation needed]
The locals who believe the legend of Benedict claim that their defender still lingers in the rocky areas on the South coast, protecting the inhabitants from foreign invaders. "[12] The 1908 Everyman edition contains a brief description of Barry Island by the Benedictine monkHugh Paulinus de Cressy (c.1605–1674): "Barri Island is situated on the coast of Glamorganshire; and, according to Cressy, took its name from St. Baruc, the hermit, who resided, and was buried there. The Barrys in Ireland, as well as the family of Giraldus, who were lords of it, are said to have derived their names from this island. John Leland, in speaking of this island, says, 'The passage into Barrey isle at ful se is a flite shot over, as much as the Tamise is above the bridge. At low water, there is a broken causey to go over, or els over the shalow streamelet of Barrey-brook on the sands. The isle is about a mile in cumpace, and hath very good corne, grasse, and sum wood; the ferme of it worth aio a yere. There ys no dwelling in the isle, but there is in the middle of it a fair little chapel of St Barrok, where much pilgrimage was usid.'"[12] Ernest Rhys, the Editor, adds in 1908: "The 'fair little chapel' has disappeared, and 'Barry Island' is now, since the construction of the great dock, connected with the mainland, it is covered with houses, and its estimated capital value is now £250,000."[12]
Modern times
View across the island and docks
Until 1896, when a rail link with the mainland via a 250-yard long causeway was completed, the only access to Barry Island had been either on foot across the sand and mud at low tide, or when the tide was in, by ferry from the shore at the Old Harbour. Barry Island railway station is the terminus of Network Rail's Barry Branch and connects with the main line and various Valley lines at Cardiff, about 9 miles (14km) north, north-east of Barry. Further tourist attractions were developed on the island, and by 1934 the number of visitors to the fairground during the August Bank Holiday week was over 400,000.
The ashes of Fred West, British serial killer, were scattered on Barry Island after his body had been cremated on 29 March 1995.[14] British champion rollerblader and Barry native Rich Taylor died after a skating accident in a Barry street on 2 August 2004.
On 25 July 2008, Radio 1 featured Barry Island in one of their summer events, broadcasting a special edition of The Scott Mills Show live from the island as part of the show's regular "Barryoke" theme, with songs such as "Smooth Barry", a twist on the song "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson with a tour of Barry Island.[15]
In 2012 the Wales Coast Path opened, containing a minor detour in which the path loops around Barry Island before continuing on westwards towards Llantwit Major.[16]
Majestic holiday chalets, demolished 1997 and replaced with housing
Butlins Barry Island was a holiday camp that opened 1966 and closed in 1996, by which time it had been known as The Barry Island Resort for about nine years.
On film
Marco's Cafe, Barry Island, used in Gavin & Stacey
The holiday camp was used to film scenes in the "Shangri-La" holiday camp in the Doctor Who serial Delta and the Bannermen. The island was also a location for Doctor Who in the 2005 series episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", standing in for a bomb site in 1941 London and the 2014 series episode "Flatline".
The 1987 horror film Bloody New Year filmed its fun fair scenes in the area.
The BBC television series Gavin & Stacey is partly set and filmed on Barry Island, this includes Marco's Café, which is where the character Stacey works.
Caesar's Palace
The Island also served as the setting for Pleasure Park on ITV Wales as part of the It's My Shout short film series. Part of the Island including the Pleasure Park was used in the serial The Mad Woman in the Attic, part of the third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The third, fourth and fifth series of the BBC supernatural drama Being Human were set and filmed in Barry (the series being originally set in Bristol until the central characters had to relocate after the second series), and were aired in early 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
↑ "FRIAR'S POINT MOUND (CAIRN III)". The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
↑ "BARRY ISLAND, WELL SITE". The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2008.[permanent dead link]
The Vale of Glamorgan, locally referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major, and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
Bardsey Island, known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards", or possibly the Viking chieftain, "Barda". At 179 hectares in area it is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales, with a population of 11.
Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately 9 miles (14 km) south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Barry Island Pleasure Park. According to Office for National Statistics 2016 estimate data, the population of Barry was 54,673.
Ynys Llanddwyn is a small tidal island off the west coast of Anglesey, northwest Wales. The nearest settlement is the village of Newborough.
Barry Island railway station is a railway station, 9+1⁄4 miles (14.9 km) south-west of Cardiff Central, serving Barry Island in South Wales. The station has been the terminus – and only remaining active station at the end of the Barry branch of the Cardiff Central to Barry Island line since the closure of Barry Pier station in 1976, the last passenger working through Barry Island tunnel to the Pier station being an enthusiasts' special in 1973. Previous to that year, only a few revenue-earning workings to meet up with the former P&A Campbell's paddle-steamer trips to Weston-super-Mare or other Somerset/Devon havens, were made following May 1964.
St Illtyd's Church is a church complex in Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales. It is located at the site of the oldest college in the United Kingdom, once believed to have been founded as Côr Tewdws c. AD 395 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. It is now generally accepted as having been founded by St. Illtud c. AD 508, from whom it derives its name. The current church building was built in the 11th century by the Normans, with portions being rebuilt in the 13th and 15th centuries. The church building is one of the oldest and best-known parish churches in Wales. It is a grade I listed building, or building of exceptional interest, and has been called both the "Westminster Abbey of Wales" for its unique collection of carved stones and effigies, and "the most beautiful church in Wales."
Tewdrig ap Teithfallt, known simply as Tewdrig, was a king of the post-Roman Kingdom of Glywysing. He abdicated in favour of his son Meurig (Maurice) and retired to live a hermitical life, but was recalled to lead his son's army against an intruding Saxon force. He won the battle, but was mortally wounded.
The de Barry family is a noble Cambro-Norman family which held extensive land holdings in Wales and Ireland. The founder of the de Barra family was a Norman Knight, Odo, who assisted in the Norman Conquest of England and south east Wales during the 11th century. As a reward for his military services, Odo was granted estates in Pembrokeshire and around Barry, Wales, including Barry Island just off the coast.
Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber, also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.
The St Lythans burial chamber is a single stone megalithic dolmen, built around 4,000 BC as part of a chambered long barrow, during the mid Neolithic period, in what is now known as the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Parc Cwm long cairn, also known as Parc le Breos burial chamber, is a partly restored Neolithic chambered tomb, identified in 1937 as a Severn-Cotswold type of chambered long barrow. The cromlech, a megalithic burial chamber, was built around 5850 years before present (BP), during the early Neolithic. It is about seven 1⁄2 miles (12 km) west south–west of Swansea, Wales, in what is now known as Coed y Parc Cwm at Parc le Breos, on the Gower Peninsula.
Barry Island was a Butlin's, latterly Majestic Holidays, holiday camp located on Barry Island in Wales. It opened in 1966 and closed in 1996.
Llanrhian is a small village, community and parish in Pembrokeshire in west Wales, near the coast, south of Porthgain village. The community of Llanrhian includes the settlements of Llanhowell, Croesgoch, Portheiddy, Porthgain and Trefin. The village church is St Rhian’s and is of medieval origin. The village is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Llaneilian is a village and community in Anglesey, Wales. It is located in the north east of the island, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Amlwch, 16.5 miles (26.6 km) north west of Menai Bridge and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north of Llangefni. The community includes the villages and hamlets of Dulas, Llaneilian, Pengorffwysfa, Cerrig Man and Penysarn, Gadfa and Nebo, and at the 2001 census had a population of 1,192, decreasing slightly to 1,186 at the 2011 Census. The parish is crowned by its hill, Mynydd Eilian, a HuMP, popular with walkers and ramblers, and its beach, Traeth Eilian, which is popular with holidaymakers and for watersport activities. At the north easternmost point is Point Lynas,, while Ynys Dulas lies off the North East coast of the island, east of Dulas Bay.
Dyffryn, often Duffryn, is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located 4.8 miles (7.7 km) north of the town centre of Barry, roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) west of St Lythans and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of St. Nicholas. It lies off the A4226 road, along St Lythans Road, directly east of Walterston. Dyffryn is best known for its Dyffryn Gardens and its megalithic monuments nearby including the Tinkinswood and St Lythans Burial Chamber and also the caves of nearby Goldsland. The River Waycock flows through the village.
Barry Town Council is an elected town council serving Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the largest towns in Wales.
This is a bibliography of published works on the history of Wales. It includes published books, journals, and educational and academic history-related websites; it does not include self-published works, blogs or user-edited sites. Works may cover aspects of Welsh history inclusively or exclusively.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).
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