In the early nineteenth century Barry was little more than a small collection of disparate agricultural villages with a small limestone port. With the expansion of the South Wales coalfield and the increasing prosperity of Cardiff as a coal exporting port, Victorian entrepreneurial eyes identified the area’s potential an an ideal location to further profit from the export of coal. With the building of the docks came a rapid growth in the Town itself which resulted in the villages of Barry, Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan merging into one large urban area.

A concise history of the town can be found on Wikipedia.

The Barry Docks Railway Company started construction works on the docks in 1884 and by 1913 a record breaking 11 million tons of coal were being exported through the port. During this period and taking advantage of the expanding railway system, the holiday resort of Barry Island also developed focussing upon the beautiful sandy beach at Whitmore Bay.

The town prospered with the expansion of trade through the docks and the development of Barry Island throughout the early part of the twentieth century. Further expansion was fueled by the development of the industrial chemical complex on Sully Moors providing steady and well-paid employment opportunities for local residents. However, trade in the port diminished mostly because of its inability to handle the larger and more efficient cargo ships, leaving large areas of unused and derelict land.

Today the town is regenerating itself with the redevelopment of much of the former dockland areas for shopping and residential purposes. Fortunately from an employment point of view business in Barry had diversified and although the loss of trade through the port was felt hard in some quarters the town has been able to survive.

The future looks promising for Barry and the town is maintaining a unique identity for itself despite constant fears of it becoming a satellite town or outlying district of a greater Cardiff.

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