By Karl-James Langford

BARRY & District News has seen me writing more than 60 pieces for my weekly column, and I admit there are so many building that I still need to feature.

I still need to write on police stations, public houses and I'd like to feature hotels more. I have been asked to write about a popular Cadoxton location in the near future: the Osborne Hotel.

Please feel free to ask me questions via Facebook (Karl-James Langford) or offer me any research you would like me to cover for the Barry and District. One old Barry pal has done just that. Peter Sampson went out and about in Romilly Park, and I am grateful to him for this image.

We see the Romilly family arriving here just over 200 years ago. For in the year 1812 Sir Samuel Romilly took charge of the Barry and Porthkerry estate - an area 50 acres short of 2,000.

Part of this was - as we call it today - Romilly Park. It's my belief that if the Port was never built in Barry we would not have Romilly Park today.

The park is dominated on the south side by a railway embankment; if this had never been built, there would be rolling views all the way out to sea. In fact in an image as part of the collection of photos held by the very talented local historian Gerald Beaudette, we see just that in an image of 1897, rolling views out to sea; just before the embankment was built and also the first modelling of the park.

We can not pretend to examine every Edwardian water fountain that once existed in the park of the late Victorian and Edwardian brick built structures this week, but safe to say, there is a lot of the original infrastructure of the park still with us today.

A young man in his 80s; even my friend Peter, who took this week's photo, was impressed by this Victorian and Edwardian gem of a park, as in fact I was when I was a child 40 years ago.

As the Barry The centenary book (1984) states: '... shallow bowl-shaped valley... with meadowland in the bottom...' This fascinates me. In fact it is part of the story I tell of the park, each time I am there. In the depths of winter today the southern lower end of the park becomes flooded. This flooding is a distant memory of the time when the park was open to the sea at high tides. It is my belief that here was the harbour for Barry castle, and any previous Iron Age site, 2,000 years ago that once existed at the same location.

The photo today is that of a very well restored shelter that was constructed in the early 1900s. The park was given to the people of Barry; now administered by the Vale of Glamorgan Council, in 1898 by the Romilly family.

The park was fully functional by 1911, with its newly planted trees: native and ornamental, bowling green, water feature, shelters, drive and walk ways, tennis court, drinking fountains, flower beds, open greens and lots more, also with a green painted cast iron fence and gates around the whole array.

What I can remember of the park when I was a child was that it had seen better days. Behind this shelter (one of several of similar design), there used to be toilets; and I don't really know if these had been added later, but now they are gone. But now it's a grade II listed site, you have to admit the Vale of Glamorgan Council have done a great job, giving the Victorian and Edwardian park its life back. This shelter has three cast iron columns supporting a timber loft of brick tile roof, and benches. And holds now some of its pride of place from times past.

I do believe we have turned a corner on The Barry and District, and hope more of our buildings will see the pride Romilly Park has bestowed on us today. Many thanks for joining us today.