Barry was a tiny hamlet of farms and cottages until 1886. Then in just 5 years it was turned into the biggest coal exporting port in the world and is now the biggest town in Wales.
How did that happen? What drove that expansion? Who were the people behind it and what was their motivation? And why is the dock now just a shadow of what it once was? In this video podcast, historian, author and broadcaster Graham Loveluck-Edwards discusses the meteoric rise of Barry (the docks and the town) with Nick Hodges of the Victorian Barry Experience. We look at the early years and what Barry was like before the docks, why Barry was chosen as the preferred site for the new docks, the vision of those who planned it, the labour and losses of those who physically built it and the lives of the people who lived and worked in its shadow.
It is amazing how the whole project, from vision to completion was executed. It was one of the most adventurous engineering projects of its age and planned with the type of holistic thinking our modern day planners could do with reflecting on. They didn’t just build a port, they planned streets, railways, sewers, cemeteries, schools etc to make sure the whole scheme worked from start to finish and people were not an after thought.
You can watch this video on the link below and it is available to share from my YouTube channel (which is https://youtube.com/user/GrahamLoveluck ). It is one of a series of discussion videos with expert guests called the ‘History On Your Doorstep’ series. They are written, presented and published by me; Welsh author and historian; Graham Loveluck-Edwards and broadcast on Bro Radio as well my YouTube channel. In this series of short videos, I examine the pivotal moments in the history of the Vale of Glamorgan. The people, places and events that have shaped our county and still impact on our lives today. I hope you enjoy them.
If you would like to read more about Barry history I have several books which cover the area’s more ancient history. More information on them available on this link.