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Barry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)
Encyclopedia
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 world's second highest tidal range of 15 metres (49.2 ft), second only to Bay of Fundy
in Eastern Canada
.
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 Dock by the Barry Railway Company
. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to form Barry Island.
Although the Barry Island used to be home to a Butlins
Holiday Camp, it is now known more for its beach
and Barry Island Pleasure Park
.
The area's railway station
serves as one of the termini on the Vale of Glamorgan Line
and connects to Cardiff, about 9 miles (14.5 km) north north east of Barry, in 33 minutes.
occupation. Mesolithic
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
. 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
. They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land. These neolithic
colonists
, who integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changed from being hunter-gatherers to settled farmers. They built the long barrow
s at St Lythans
and Tinkinswood
, which date to around 6,000 BP
, only 3 miles (4.8 km) and 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Barry Island, respectively.
and Iron Age
Celtic cultures. Together with much of South Wales, Barry Island was settled by a Celtic British tribe called the Silures
. There have been five Bronze Age burial mounds, or cairn
s, recorded on Friars Point.
Although the Roman occupation
left no physical impression on Barry Island, there were Romano-British
settlements nearby in Barry and Llandough
. These people embraced the Roman religion of Christianity
and dedicated a chapel to St Baruc, a disciple of St Cadoc
. Having forgotten to bring St Cadoc's reading matter with him, on a journey from the island of Flat Holm
, St Baruc was sent back and he drowned in the Bristol Channel
on the return journey. He was buried on Barry Island and the ruins of the chapel that was dedicated to him can still be seen in Friars Road. His feast day is on 27 September.
The Viking
s launched raids in the area and Barry Island was known to be a raider base in 1087.
The Norman
/Welsh
chronicler Gerallt Gymro (c.1146 – c.1223) described the origin of his family name in his 'The Itinerary of Archbishop
Baldwin
through Wales' (also known as 'The Journey through Wales'). Gerallt Gymro, also known as , 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." Going on to describe the island's well, 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."
The 1908 Everyman
edition contains a brief description of Barry Island by the Benedictine monk Hugh 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.'" 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."
Until 1896, when a rail link with the mainland via a 250 yard long pier structure 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 Yellow Funnel Line paddle steamer
. Over 150,000 visitors were recorded arriving one August Bank Holiday weekend, mostly by train. 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.
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.
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.
The BBC
television series Gavin & Stacey
is partly set and filmed in Barry.
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 series of the BBC supernatural drama Being Human
was set and filmed in Barry, and was aired in early 2011.
, Julia Gillard
was born in Barry Island in 1961. She became Australia's first woman Prime Minister and first female leader of the Australian Labor Party
on 24 June 2010 after serving as Deputy Prime Minster to Kevin Rudd
.
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
, peninsula
Peninsula
A 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"....
and 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 :...
, forming part of the town of Barry
Barry, Wales
Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park...
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...
, South 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...
. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on 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...
, has the world's second highest tidal range of 15 metres (49.2 ft), second only to Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
in Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
.
The peninsula was an 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
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...
. Established by David Davies, the docks now link up the gap which used to form Barry Island.
Although the Barry Island used to be 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, it is now known more for its 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...
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...
.
The area's railway station
Barry Island railway station
Barry Island railway station is a railway station, fifteen kilometres south-west of Cardiff Central, serving Barry Island in Wales...
serves as one of the termini on the Vale of Glamorgan Line
Vale of Glamorgan Line
The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend via Barry, Rhoose and Llantwit Major. There are also branch lines to Penarth and Barry Island. As its names suggests, the line runs through the Vale of Glamorgan....
and connects to Cardiff, about 9 miles (14.5 km) north north east of Barry, in 33 minutes.
Prehistoric Origins
The area around Barry Island shows extensive evidence of modern humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
occupation. Mesolithic
Mesolithic
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 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...
. 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
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...
by boat, apparently from the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land. These 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...
colonists
Colonisation
Colonization occurs whenever any one or more species populate an area. The term, which is derived from the Latin colere, "to inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect", originally related to humans. However, 19th century biogeographers dominated the term to describe the...
, who integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changed from being hunter-gatherers to settled farmers. They built the long barrow
Long barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
s at St Lythans
St Lythans
St Lythans is an affluent hamlet and former parish in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales, just outside of western Cardiff. It lies southwest of Culverhouse Cross, west of Wenvoe and southwest of Twyn-yr-Odyn and is also connected by road from Dyffryn and the Five Mile Lane in the west...
and Tinkinswood
Tinkinswood
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 BP , during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.The structure is called a dolmen, which was...
, which date to around 6,000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
, only 3 miles (4.8 km) and 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Barry Island, respectively.
New cultures
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 AgeBronze 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...
and 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...
Celtic cultures. Together with much of South Wales, Barry Island was settled by a Celtic British tribe called the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
. There have been five Bronze Age burial mounds, or cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s, recorded on Friars Point.
Although the Roman occupation
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...
left no physical impression on Barry Island, there were Romano-British
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
settlements nearby in Barry and Llandough
Llandough
Llandough is a village and southern suburb of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.- Location :...
. These people embraced the Roman religion of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and dedicated a chapel to St Baruc, a disciple of St 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...
. Having forgotten to bring St Cadoc's reading matter with him, on a journey from the island of 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....
, St Baruc was sent back and he drowned 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...
on the return journey. He was buried on Barry Island and the ruins of the chapel that was dedicated to him can still be seen in Friars Road. His feast day is on 27 September.
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.
Gerallt Gymro
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
/Welsh
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...
chronicler Gerallt Gymro (c.1146 – c.1223) described the origin of his family name in his 'The Itinerary of Archbishop
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
Baldwin
Baldwin of Exeter
Baldwin of Forde was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. Son of a clergyman, he studied both canon law and theology at Bologna and was tutor to Pope Eugene III's nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter...
through Wales' (also known as 'The Journey through Wales'). Gerallt Gymro, also known as , 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." Going on to describe the island's well, 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."
The 1908 Everyman
Everyman's Library
Everyman's Library is a series of reprinted classic literature currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent , who continue to publish Everyman Classics in paperback.J. M. Dent and Company began to publish the series in 1906...
edition contains a brief description of Barry Island by the Benedictine monk Hugh Paulinus de Cressy
Hugh Paulinus de Cressy
Hugh Paulinus de Cressy was an English Benedictine monk, whose religious name was Serenus.-Life:He was born at Wakefield, Yorkshire, about 1605. He went to Oxford at the age of fourteen, and in 1626 became a fellow of Merton College. Having taken Anglican orders, he rose to the dignity of dean of...
(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.'" 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."
Modern times
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
. Over 150,000 visitors were recorded arriving one August Bank Holiday weekend, mostly by train. 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
Fred West
Frederick Walter Stephen West , was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at...
, British serial killer, were scattered on Barry Island after his body had been cremated on 29 March 1995.
British champion rollerblader and Barry native Rich Taylor
Richard Taylor (skater)
Richard Taylor was a Welsh inline skating and freestyle skiing champion.Taylor, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, learned to skate because he wanted to become a stuntman. He turned professional at the age of 15 after winning the World Amateur International Inline Skate Series and qualifying 6th in...
died after a skating accident in a Barry street on 2 August 2004.
On 25 July 2008, Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
featured Barry Island in one of their summer events, broadcasting a special edition of The Scott Mills Show
The Scott Mills Show
The Scott Mills Show is a Sony Radio Academy Award-winning drive time radio show, broadcast every week-day on BBC Radio 1 from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm, with a short break at 5:45 pm for Newsbeat. The show began in its present form on 7 June 2004, and highlights of the show first became available...
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.
Holiday Camp
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.Film and Barry Island
The holiday camp was used to film scenes in the "Shangri-La" holiday camp in the Doctor WhoDoctor 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 island was also a location for Doctor Who in the 2005 series episodes "The Empty Child
The 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 Dances
The 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...
", standing in for a bomb site in 1941 London.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series 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...
is partly set and filmed in Barry.
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 series of the BBC supernatural drama Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
was set and filmed in Barry, and was aired in early 2011.
Notable residents
The Commonwealth of Australia's 27th Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
was born in Barry Island in 1961. She became Australia's first woman Prime Minister and first female leader of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
on 24 June 2010 after serving as Deputy Prime Minster to Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
.