{"id":14835,"date":"2024-11-22T00:43:37","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T23:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14835"},"modified":"2024-11-22T00:43:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T23:43:37","slug":"a-brief-history-of-barry-to-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14835","title":{"rendered":"A Brief History Of Barry To 1939"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARRY TO 1939<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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We all go to Barry, at least now and again, but how often do we pause to consider how the town of almost 60,000 people today became developed in a relatively short space of time? This chronology has been (mostly) taken from the Souvenir to commemorate the granting of Borough Status to the then urban district of Barry by King George V1<\/p>\n

6,000 BC to 1881AD \u2013 Not much happened, apart from some hunter gathering, Iron Age settlements, a bit of farming, a Roman dude building himself a beach side villa at the Knap and in the 6th century Saint Baruc being drowned off Flat Holme and buried on Barry Island.<\/p>\n

1882 \u2013 Population of Barry is just 478 persons.<\/p>\n

1883 \u2013 A Bill to promote the Barry Dock and Railway to counter the dominance of Cardiff docks for the export of coal was prepared.<\/p>\n

1884 \u2013 The Bill was laid before Parliament, Royal Assent given and the first sod of the new Barry Dock was cut.<\/p>\n

1886 \u2013 A Police Station is built and Gas and Water works were inaugurated.<\/p>\n

1888 \u2013 A rudimentary form of administration (a Local Board) was established; the first trains ran on the new railways to Hafod and Cardiff.<\/p>\n

1889 \u2013 The first Barry Dock was opened. Gas was used for the first time in Barry.<\/p>\n

1890 \u2013 Barry Post Office opened as did the Barry Waterworks.<\/p>\n

1891 \u2013 Bathing places established at Whitmore Bay.<\/p>\n

1892 \u2013 First free library established.<\/p>\n

1894 \u2013 First Urban District Council elections held.<\/p>\n

1895 \u2013 First meeting of the new Urban District Council with Mr J C Meggitt as Chairman.<\/p>\n

1896 \u2013 Romilly Park given to the town by Romilly Estate.<\/p>\n

1897 \u2013 Vale of Glamorgan Railway opened to passenger traffic.<\/p>\n

1898 \u2013 Number 2 dock opened.<\/p>\n

1900 \u2013 Barry Accident Hospital established.<\/p>\n

1902 \u2013 Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish American philanthropist gave \u00a38,000 for a new library.<\/p>\n

1905 \u2013 Bathing Houses at Whitmore Bay opened and the council took control of the beaches.<\/p>\n

1906 \u2013 New library opened.<\/p>\n

1907 \u2013 New public offices opened.<\/p>\n

1910 \u2013 Plans approved for the construction of sea wall and esplanade at Whitmore Bay.<\/p>\n

1913 \u2013 Barry is now the largest coal exporting port in the world.<\/p>\n

1914 \u2013 War declared and Whitmore Bay ordered to be closed.<\/p>\n

1917 \u2013 First contingent of USA troops to land in UK disembarked at Barry.<\/p>\n

1919 \u2013 First steps taken to establish a War Memorial fund.<\/p>\n

1920 \u2013 National Eisteddfod of Wales held in Romilly Park.<\/p>\n

1922 \u2013 Great Western Railway took over the Barry Docks and Railway Company.<\/p>\n

1924 \u2013 Shelters and shops at Whitmore Bay opened<\/p>\n

1926 \u2013 Cold Knap swimming pool opened.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1928 \u2013 Barry is provided with mains electricity.<\/p>\n

1930 \u2013 Barry is supplied with water from the new Taf Fechan reservoirs.<\/p>\n

1932 \u2013 Barry Memorial Hall is opened.<\/p>\n

1939 was a momentous year. It was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first dock, and despite war having just been declared, the Great and the Good gathered in a lavish celebration over four days with parades and trumpet fanfares etc to commemorate King George VI granting Borough status to the town of Barry.<\/p>\n

Tony Hodge<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARRY TO 1939 We all go to Barry, at least now and again, but how often do we pause to consider how the town of almost 60,000 people today became developed in a relatively short space of time? This chronology has been (mostly) taken from the Souvenir to commemorate the granting of Borough Status to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3Rh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15382,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15382","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":0},"title":"The Life And Times Of Mr J C Meggitt – Part 2","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT - Part 2 In Part I, we learned how the 28 year old John Claxton Meggitt came from Wolverhampton and established a thriving timber supply business in Barry. Initially this was to supply the timber needed for \u201cfalse works\u201d in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture7.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5735,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5735","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":1},"title":"Old Docks Offices In Barry","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd April 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 If you\u2019ve travelled along Ffordd y Mileniwm from Palmerston to the Barry Waterfront, you will have passed by one of the most iconic buildings in the area. This imposing building looks out over Barry Island - but at one time it faced the busy Barry Docks and housed the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Barry-docks-office-building-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14943,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14943","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":2},"title":"Halloween Stroll at Barry Island","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th December 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Halloween Stroll at Barry Island A Halloween stroll at Barry Island...did any of these strollers work their magic and bring the bright sunshine and blue skies that was welcomed by all? \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Carers Walk"","block_context":{"text":"Carers Walk","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=362"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Picture2.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3406,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3406","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":3},"title":"WENVOE RAILWAY TUNNEL","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"WENVOE RAILWAY TUNNEL \u00a0 The Barry Railway Company was built to release the stranglehold of the Taff Vale Railway (from Merthyr Tydfil) and Cardiff Docks on the export of south Wales\u2019 coal. Work commenced in1885. Building with great efficiency Barry docks soon overtook Cardiff in exporting coal. This impressive achievement,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe History Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe History Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=40"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16646,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16646","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":4},"title":"The First Stroll at Barry Island","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th February 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The First Stroll at Barry Island The first stroll at Barry Island of 2026 was under grey skies. Wrapped up walkers enjoyed being blown around the headland and catching up on post-Christmas chat. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Carers Walk"","block_context":{"text":"Carers Walk","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=362"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Carers-Stroll.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15339,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15339","url_meta":{"origin":14835,"position":5},"title":"Book Review","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"BOOK REVIEW \"Barry Railway: Coal\u2019s Last Burst\" This slim volume by erstwhile civil engineer, local historian and author Stephen K Jones has been produced to serve as an overarching summary to bring together several historical strands. 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