Barry

Barry, port town, Vale of Glamorgan county, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), southern Wales. It is situated on the Bristol Channel, just west of where the channel is met by the mouth of the River Severn estuary, and is the administrative centre of Vale of Glamorgan county.

Barry has associations with Baruch, a 7th-century Celtic monk, and with the Normans, who built a castle there in the 11th century. But its growth from a tiny village dates from 1889, when a new dock was opened there so that Barry could compete with nearby Cardiff (northeast) in exporting coal. The trade of the port, which was almost entirely confined to coal exports, declined after World War I, but it revived after 1960 to handle more diversified cargoes, including imports of bananas and oil. In addition to its administrative functions, Barry is also a shopping and service centre and a popular seaside resort for southern and southeastern Wales, with sandy beaches and recreational facilities. Pop. (2001) 47,863; (2011) 51,502.