Much of what we know or have supposed about Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan, in which it is situated has been gleaned from the buildings found there, many of which have been badly neglected for too long. There are also legendary stories, such as that of Joseph of Arimathea, who traded tin in Glastonbury, just across the channel and who was one of the first missionaries to this part of the country.
Tradition has it that the father of Caractacus took his son on a journey to Rome, where they were converted to Christianity. Later, they returned to the Vale of Glamorgan with Bran The Blessed, the missionary. It is a fact that Christianity was a popular belief there early in the Fourth Century and that south Wales sent several bishops to the Council of Rome.
Saint Baruch’s Church on Barry Island is one of the oldest places of historic religious interest in the region, but unfortunately, it too has been allowed to become dilapidated. Barry Island was one of the most important places of monastic interest in south Wales and around. The ancient Viking strongholds of Steep and Flat Holms also housed monks and Saint Illtyd’s Seminary in nearby Llantwit Major, which taught 2,200 disciples, was closely linked to it too.
There was an ancient Roman fort and accompanying naval dockyard on Porthkerry Point, which had obviously jutted out further into the sea than it does now and later a castle was built on their ruins. There have been found many wolf and deer bones between Sully and Barry – enough to show that they had existed there in great numbers. There have also been a large number of findings of arrowheads, flints, needles and coins, proving that people were there to prey on them too.
Barry Island was first called ‘Baruch’s Island’, as far as we know, after Saint Baruch. St. Baruch had been found on one of the beeches, washed up dead in 700 AD. He is known to have drowned when returning from Flat Holm, which was commonly used as a retreat by religious people over Lent.
He and Gwelches were both students of St. Cadoc and when they had got back from Flat Holm, they realized that they had left their enchiridion (religious manual) behind. St. Cadoc made them go back for it. Neither monk returned from the trip alive.St. Illtyd, St. Baruch’s most famous disciple was educated there too.
The island at Barry has had several names including “Island of the Saints” and “Insular of Peiros”. St. Peiro was St. Illtyd’s successor as leader of the seminary and St. Samson’s mentor. St. Doeninas was the leader of another abbey on the island at nearby Friars’ Point.
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Memorable Events From January 2000
I was looking through a history book and it was going on about memorable events of ten years ago, but I had forgotten most of them. I have picked out some of the events of exactly ten years ago this month – January, in a word. So here are a few things that you may or probably will not remember from January 2000.
1 – on his first day as acting president, Vladimir Putin left to visit Russian troops in Chechnya.
4 – President Clinton recommends Alan Greenspan to a fourth four year term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
5 – President Clinton rules that Elian Gonzalez, a six year old Cuban boy who survived the capsizing of a refugee boat, should be returned to his father in Cuba.
6 – much of Miami is shut down by hundreds of Cuban-Americans protesting the Gonzalez decision. – the S.E.C reports that most partners of Price, Waterhouse, Coopers, the world’s largest accounting firm, violated regulations requiring that they may not hold stock in firms that they audit. Five partners were fired.
7 – Vice Pres. Al Gore back-tracks on his assurance to ensure that all new appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff were sympathetic to permitting gays to serve openly in the military.
8 – AOL announces a merger with Time Warner for $165 billion: the world’s biggest ever.
11 – the British government rules that General Pinochet is medically unfit to stand trial for suspected crimes against humanity in Chile during his presidency.
13 – executives at the nation’s leading drugs companies say they want to cooperate with Clinton to institute Medicare coverage for prescription drugs this year.
15 – Arkan, the notorious Serbian paramilitary leader was shot dead in a hotel lobby in Belgrade.
18 – Helmut Kohl resigns as honorary Christian Democratic Party chairman over suggestions of corruption from within the party.
24 – the Supreme Court rules that laws limiting political donations to $1,000 in Missouri are constitutional.
25 – the Congressional Budget Office reports that the flood of tax revenues resulting from the exceptionally strong economy will last for ten years.
26 – ‘The New York Times’ informs that U.S investigators have discovered links between a group of Algerians charged with plotting a terrorist strike in the U.S. and Osama Bin Laden, the exiled Saudi accused of bombing two American embassies.
31 – Republican Gov. George Ryan of Illinois halts all executions in the state citing a shameful record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row. – top officials n the C.I.A. are accused of impeding an internal investigation into indications that the agency’s former director, John M. Deutsch, mishandled secret information.
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