Customs, Superstitions and Beliefs of Old Barry

The lives of the pre-dock inhabitants of Barry, including the surrounding villages which are now absorbed into the modern town of Barry such as Cadoxton, Merthyr Dyfan, Highlight (Uchelolau) as well as Cwm Ciddy would have been peppered with customs, traditions and superstitions, most of which are now lost to us. These customs and old beliefs would have played a large part in the lives of the rural village dweller, yet would now in the twenty-first century have very little relevance.

(Barry village around 1900)

The old county of Glamorgan as well as the village of Barry was, until the last one hundred and forty years still a very rural place with agriculture forming the main basis for its economy. Barry was described in the late nineteenth century as being only accessible ‘by carriage and foot’ with there being no real roads to speak of. There was the Port Road Turnpike but even with its toll fees funding the repair of this commercial road, it could not have been much better than a mud track during the winter. Old Barry then was very much isolated.  

The rural communities of old Barry would have spent a lot of time out in the fields working the land and collecting the harvest. One custom they would have certainly practiced was the making of corn-dollies. This once wide spread custom of rural life has completely vanished from the modern world but in a time before the mechanisation of agriculture, most people would have been involved in farm work. Corn-dollies were intricate designs make from corn. Artwork in their own right, they were not just an example of an individual’s skill but also intended as a blessing for the forthcoming harvest when, after been retained for the winter were ploughed back into the land during the spring plough.

(Corn-dollies from Usk Musem) 

It was noted during the late nineteenth century that the inhabitants of rural Glamorganshire, especially the older ones were 'not a little superstitious and strongly believed in ghosts, warnings and death-candles.' These death-candles or corpse-candles (cannwyll corf) are a death omen particular to Welsh folklore and were widely believed in not just in Barry and Glamorganshire but throughout Wales in past times. 

(The Corpse Candle, often a doppelganger of those unfortunate enough to see it, or sometimes a spectral light, was a sure sign that death would soon come)

The villagers of old Barry would have practiced the ancient British custom of 'beating the bounds' whereby, the inhabitants would walk the boundaries of the parish and would quite literally beat it with tree boughs in order to be aware of its extent. Given that there were no maps and that most people did not venture much beyond their own parish, this was an important custom, one which is lost to us today. 

Glamorgan was, as Rice Merrick noted in the sixteenth century, mostly open fields as opposed to the enclosed hedged fields we see today, hence this archaic ceremony had a practical function. This annual ceremony possessed religious and superstitious undertones as 'beating the bounds' was also intended to drive away evil spirits which our forefathers earnestly believed in, but also served to bless the forthcoming harvest. 

                                     (The medieval boundary for the village of Barry)

Belief in witches and witchcraft was also common throughout past centuries. The homes of the common villager and gentry alike in Barry were likely to have carved ‘witch marks’ or apotropaic marks somewhere inside. These mystic looking symbols would be scribed over the fireplace, into wood beams, on a window sill or in many other locations throughout the home. They were thought to stop the entry of witches or any evil spirits and protect the inhabitants – this was especially so during the seventeenth century where fear of witches was at fever pitch in Britain.

(Witch marks such as this would have been a feature of the cottages and houses of old Barry)

Glamorganshire was described even during the early twentieth century as having many customs that were unique to this area and not seen anywhere else. With the advent of industry and a mass migration of outsiders they have all but disappeared.  For example: a local legend was once told of Porthkerry that every night ‘Ceri ab Caid’s’ daughter would ride out with her white hound on her mysterious journey, returning always at dawn. 

An old custom noted in the Barry area was that of Mary the White (Mari Lwyd) which was a form of wassailing (an English version of ‘Mari Lwyd’). In Glamorgan, the villagers would dress up in the guise of a skeletal horse decorated with ribbons and would on Christmas Eve playfully harass local homeowners, even intruding into the house itself until various liquid refreshments or money were offered in appeasement.

(Villagers from Llangynwyd enacting Mari Lwyd)

(The ancient custom of Mari Lwyd survives in more traditional parts of Wales) 

Another ancient custom practiced in Wales and old Glamorgan was that of Hunting the Wren. Once the wren was captured, it was placed in a ribbon decorated wooden box where it was taken by four men to the local town where they would endeavour to sell it for beer money. Like the local custom of Mari Lwyd, the men were also admitted into the local dwellings for liquid refreshments.

(A ribbon decorated wooden Wren House)

Another old custom from rural Barry was leaving wish tokens at wells which have been regarded since pagan times as sacred places. Barry contained principally four such ancient wells, which were widely believed to have healing and curative properties. For example: it was a custom for Barry women in times gone by to visit a well on Barry Island on Holy Thursday to bath their eyes in the hope of preventing blindness. 

Of the wells, there was St Baruch’s Well which is located on Barry Island and Ffynnon John Lewis Well, which was noted for curing afflictions of the eyes.  John Lewis Well was located by the now vanished farm of Ty Du at Merthyr Dovan. Jacob's Well was located at Buttrills Road and Channel’s Well was at Pencoedtre in Cadoxton - this well was reputed to cure skin disease.

There were other ancient wells in the Barry area such as Begger's Well which was located in Peters Well Road. These wells were referred to by the inhabitants of old Barry as ‘rag wells’ on account of the large amounts of rags tied to bushes or trees nearby. 

(Rag wells would have been colourful places as this modern image of wish tokens would suggest)

The act of leaving tokens at a sacred place pre-dates Christianity and is a widely practiced pagan tradition which still lingers on throughout Britain today. For example, the followers of the Wiccan religion frequently leave wish tokens at ancient prehistoric sites such as Tinkinswood. The ancient customs and superstitions of Glamorgan and Wales were a part of the rural community and of a way of life that for the most part has now vanished.

Mark and Jonathan Lambert are archaeology graduates of Cardiff University and are published authors. They have been writing about and researching local history for the past 20 years and have a wealth of knowledge. All articles are original compositions - we hope you enjoy our content. Enquiries: hiddenglamorgan@outlook.com

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2015

The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.