Barry Castle

Barry Castle was built on a former Romano-British farmstead in the western part of the town. Much of the castle was developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was likely the work of the de Barry family. This was the local ruling family who took their name from the town.

 

The castle has seen extensive change over the years, being converted into a barn during the eighteenth or nineteenth century. Around this time, the eastern wall was largely demolished, allowing for it to be dated to the medieval era and leading to the discovery of Roman artifacts.

 

The twentieth century brought major change to the castle which further damaged the original building and surrounded it with houses. However, this also brought opportunity for archaeologists and historians to expand their knowledge of the site. The south-west corner of the castle was damaged as an air raid shelter was built in the Second World War, and in doing so the foundations of a sixteenth-century alehouse were discovered.

 

The 1960s saw important discoveries for the castle, with the discovery of hearth and pit remnants from the twelfth century. As cable trenches were dug in 1960 and 1979, further archaeological discoveries of the walls were made. Despite all the change to the castle in recent times, the gatehouse continues to be a local landmark to this day.