I WAS moved by Guy Fletcher's article on Barry Castle in a previous issue. Sadly our only three surviving ancient monuments in the town have been neglected for some years.

Barry Castle has a small tree growing out of the vaulted gatehouse, which, if ignored will eventually cause damage. The ruins of Barry's only ecclesiastical building on Barry Island, St Barruc's chapel, is almost enclosed in ivy, and the Roman site at Cold Knap, Barry's earliest surviving monument is now in a poor state,

These monuments should be regularly maintained, with an up-to-date notice board giving a brief history, but have been totally neglected by the local authorities. Our poor cash strapped Council will probably say they can't afford to maintain them; at least they could remove the ivy and any vegetation which is obstructing the view of the ruins.

I would like to quote from Stan Awbery's Let Us Tak Of Barry, published 1954, "On the brow of Barry Hill overlooking Romilly Park there is an old Norman gateway ruin with its portcullis chamber almost hidden in folds of ivy. This is known as Barry Castle, but unfortunately there are many people in the town who don't even know that it exists".

Unfortunately w are returning back to those days. Barry does not appreciate what it has got, let's at least take pride in our ancient monuments which are the building blocks of our town, and were constructed by Barry's first inhabitants.

Gareth Tyley

Sully

Penarth