BARRY’S only museum, the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre, is to become a charity and drop the word ‘War’ from its title.
Volunteers there have come to an arrangement and partnership with landlord Transport for Wales for the Barry Island Station site. Now, the museum intends to extend its online hub and do more outreach activities across the town.
A spokesperson said: “Becoming a charity, enables the town’s only museum, renamed as the Barry Museum & Heritage Centre, to seek more funding opportunities.”
The museum is also seeking to celebrate local heritage through physical spaces, such as creating a ‘Gareth Jones Square’, and a ‘Wall of Fame’ on the Birdcage Walk opposite Barry Island Station.
The museum is located in the Grade II listed Barry Island Station and is open every Wednesday and second Sundays from 11am to 3pm. The museum tells the full story of the town of Barry, including the history of the docks, the railways and, with the opening of the station on Barry Island in 1896, the town’s rapid development as a major tourist destination shortly after.
Future plans include the introduction of enhanced displays detailing Barry’s neolithic and Roman past, plus information on the development of the town’s Dock and Rail infrastructure. The museum will retain its present exhibits and displays on the town’s wartime story, which include a reconstructed First World War trench, a Second World War home kitchen and an original Anderson shelter.
Volunteers run the wartime ‘Evacuee experience’, developed for school visits, highlighting how its building was used as an Evacuee reception centre during the Second World War. Staged by volunteer re-enactors, youngsters don 1940s coats and hats and make their own identity labels to evoke the austere times their great grandparent’s generation lived through.
The museum is appealing for more volunteers for a range of task including expanding the ‘Evacuee experience’, extending its opening times and developing its online digital platform.
John Buxton, chairperson and patron of the museum said: “Going forward, we’re looking to work closely with the Vale Council, Barry Town Councils and Transport for Wales to promote and develop a facility that everyone can be proud of.”
A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: “We are delighted to support the Barry Museum & Heritage Centre as it embarks on this exciting new chapter. It’s fantastic to see the station used as a space where history is brought to life so vibrantly and we look forward to continuing our partnership to celebrate the heritage and future of Barry.”
The Museum is currently closed for an annual spring clean and planned maintenance work ahead of its plans for commemorating the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day celebrations) on 8th May. For more details, contact the museum via email or visit www.barrymuseum.wales.
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