Victorian Barry Experience

24/06/2026

24/06/2026

A surviving portrait from Barry Dock, taken by J. Caddick, American Studio, offers a small but fascinating glimpse into the town’s early photographic history.

The name on the mount reads simply “J. Caddick, American Studio, Barry Dock.” Although it sounds like a permanent studio, this was in fact part of a travelling photographic business. These “American Studios” were a popular Victorian and Edwardian marketing style used by itinerant photographers who moved from town to town, setting up temporarily in rented rooms or operating from a photographic van.

“J. Caddick” appears in connection with several photographic enterprises of the period, and “Caddick’s American Studio” is recorded as part of this wider network of travelling photographers operating across Britain in the late 1890s and early 1900s. These businesses often used similar branding even when run by different operators within the same family or trade circle.

The photograph is most likely from around c.1895–1910, when travelling studios were at their peak and Barry was growing rapidly.

It’s likely that surviving photographs taken in Barry Dock by this travelling photographer are quite rare, as these studios were only in town briefly before packing up and moving on again.

24/06/2026

St. Andrews Church in postcard sent in 1908.

24/06/2026

June 8th 1929

24/06/2026

A rather plain postcard, but it shows Nell’s Point Battery on Barry Island. a coastal fort completed in 1900 to defend the Bristol Channel and the busy Barry Docks.

Armed with 6-inch guns, the battery stood watch over the sea, but there is no evidence it ever fired in action against an enemy target.

Today it’s almost forgotten beneath later development, but once this quiet headland formed part of Britain’s coastal defence network.

24/06/2026

🐔🥚 On this day, 24 June 1898, the Barry Dock News reported an impressive egg-laying record from Cadoxton-Barry.
Mr G. H. Spinks, a compositor at the newspaper offices, kept meticulous records of his poultry. Eight hens laid 1,200 eggs between January and November 1897, while a flock of sixteen hens produced a further 1,325 eggs between December 1897 and May 1898.

One particularly remarkable cross-bred pullet laid almost continuously from December 1896 until February 1898, taking only a few days' rest and never becoming broody.

Mr Spinks also revealed the secret of his success. His hens had free run, were fed warm soft food on winter mornings, grain at night, and their house was swept daily.

📊 Egg-laying record

8 Hens (1897)
• January (4 days) – 18 eggs
• February – 137 eggs
• March – 174 eggs
• April – 147 eggs
• May – 136 eggs
• June – 152 eggs
• July – 110 eggs
• August – 112 eggs
• September – 74 eggs
• October – 49 eggs
• November – 56 eggs

Total: 1,200 eggs

16 Hens (1897–98)
• December 1897 (15 days) – 35 eggs
• January 1898 – 209 eggs
• February 1898 – 229 eggs
• March 1898 – 272 eggs
• April 1898 – 241 eggs
• May 1898 – 247 eggs

Total: 1,325 eggs

For a Victorian backyard poultry keeper, these were remarkable figures. The sixteen-hen flock averaged more than 220 eggs per month, with a peak of 272 eggs in March 1898.

The 1901 Census records Mr Spinks, his wife and family living at 4 Newton Street, Barry, in a short row of terraced houses. One can only wonder what the neighbours made of a man keeping up to sixteen hens — hopefully they appreciated the steady supply of fresh eggs as much as Mr Spinks did!

24/06/2026

🥧 National Bakewell Tart Day! 🥧
Today seems the perfect day to look back at a rather controversial Bakewell Tart recipe printed in Wales in 1913.
The Bakewell Tart originated in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell during the early 19th century, supposedly created by accident when a cook misunderstood instructions and spread an almond mixture over jam in a pastry case. The result became one of Britain's most famous desserts.

Traditionalists may raise an eyebrow at this 1913 version, however, as it included an ingredient many would consider a step too far – currants!
The recipe, published as part of a campaign promoting currant cookery, called for:

📜 Bakewell Tart (1913)

- 3 eggs
- 4 oz butter
- 3 oz chopped almonds
- 3 oz caster sugar
- 2 oz sponge cake crumbs
- 2 oz currants
- Apricot jam

Method: Mix the cake crumbs, almonds and currants. Beat the eggs and sugar together well, add the melted butter and stir into the dry ingredients. Line a dish with puff pastry, spread with apricot jam, then cover with the mixture. Bake in a quick oven.

While almonds and jam remain familiar ingredients, the addition of currants would certainly divide opinion among Bakewell Tart enthusiasts today!

Would you try this 1913 Welsh version, or should currants stay well away from a Bakewell Tart? 🤔

23/06/2026

Penarth looks exotic 😯

Diwrnod o haul ym Mhenarth!

Dyma glawr arweinlyfr i Benarth cyhoeddwyd yn y 1960au. Pwy na fyddai eisiau ymweld am dro ar hyd y promenâd a lawr y pier, ac efallai fordaith ar stemar olwyn?

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A sunny day in Penarth!

This is the cover of a guidebook produced during the 1960s. Who wouldn’t be tempted to visit for a walk along the esplanade and down the pier, and maybe even an excursion on a paddle steamer?

23/06/2026

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strydoedd-sanctaidd-y-barri-tickets-1990120122860

A guided walk in Welsh about Victorian Barry, religion and community in a growing Dock Town.

23/06/2026

📅 Reported on this day, 23rd June 1899
Plans were announced for the formation of a Volunteer Fire Brigade to protect the town and docks.
A large and representative meeting was held at the Universal Restaurant, Barry, where Mr J. G. Walliker revealed that a new fire engine station was being built in the centre of the town. The station would provide facilities for training, drills and recreation for brigade members.

The proposed brigade would consist of 24 volunteers – eight each from Barry, Barry Docks and Cadoxton – together with an experienced engineer-fireman. Contemporary reports praised the "splendid physique" of the volunteers recruited for the new service.

The creation of the brigade marked an important step in safeguarding the rapidly expanding community of Barry at the close of the nineteenth century.