In 1883 a group of mine owners applied for parliamentary permission to build a dock at Barry and a new railway to serve it.

Barry Sound was a natural choice for the dock site since comparatively little excavation was needed.
David Davies and John Cory were spokesmen for the group.

Davies, son of a small farmer in Montgomeryshire, was founder of the Ocean Coal Company.

He was the leader of the Rhondda mine owners, and was already experienced in railway construction.

Cory was establishing a network of coal bunkering depots around the world.

At first rejected, the group won permission for the port and railway in August 1884.

On 14 November 1884 a group of ship and mine owners "trudged out to Castleland Point—near the later Dock Offices—to dig a small hole in the ground with the aid of a ceremonial spade, a wheelbarrow and a plentiful supply of planking to keep the autumn mud off their shoes".

The lead engineer was John Wolfe Barry, assisted by Thomas Forster Brown and Henry Marc Brunel, son of the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

John Robinson was the resident engineer and the works were built by T.A. Walker.

Barry was son of the architect Charles Barry, and was the engineer of Tower Bridge, Surrey Commercial Docks, Natal Harbour and many other major works.

Houses were built for the construction workers that would be used by the dock workers after the docks had been opened.

Labourers and shopkeepers began to flood into the area.
In 1883 a group of mine owners applied for parliamentary permission to build a dock at Barry and a new railway to serve it.
Barry Sound was a natural choice for the dock site since comparatively little excavation was needed.David Davies and John Cory were spokesmen for the group.
Davies, son of a small farmer in Montgomeryshire, was founder of the Ocean Coal Company.
He was the leader of the Rhondda mine owners, and was already experienced in railway construction.
Cory was establishing a network of coal bunkering depots around the world.
At first rejected, the group won permission for the port and railway in August 1884.
On 14 November 1884 a group of ship and mine owners "trudged out to Castleland Point—near the later Dock Offices—to dig a small hole in the ground with the aid of a ceremonial spade, a wheelbarrow and a plentiful supply of planking to keep the autumn mud off their shoes".
The lead engineer was John Wolfe Barry, assisted by Thomas Forster Brown and Henry Marc Brunel, son of the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 
John Robinson was the resident engineer and the works were built by T.A. Walker.
Barry was son of the architect Charles Barry, and was the engineer of Tower Bridge, Surrey Commercial Docks, Natal Harbour and many other major works.
Houses were built for the construction workers that would be used by the dock workers after the docks had been opened.
Labourers and shopkeepers began to flood into the area.
Barry Docks