The Dock Office

The Dock Office is a landmark building standing proud on the skyline of Barry, overlooking the docks. It was built between 1897 and 1900 in the Baroque Revival style as the General Offices of the Barry Dock and Railway Company, whose staff had been working in temporary cabins.

Did you know that the Dock Office is a calendar building? This means it was designed around the theme of the calendar. Watch the animation below to find out more.

‘The Shipping World’ reported in 1897,

“On the ground floor will be the offices of the General Manager, Traffic Manager, Assistant Manager, Collector of Clerks, with a fine entrance hall, corridors and massive staircase leading to the upper portion of the building. On the 1st floor will be the quarters of the Resident Engineer and Secretary with their respective staffs, Boardroom, accountants and auditors rooms and drawing office with apartments for inspectors and clerks.”

It was an innovative building also, with a wood and mirror panelled lift. Interestingly, only Senior Management were allowed to use the grand staircase up until the 1960s; all other staff had to use the lift or smaller ‘back’ staircase.

Postcard photograph of the Barry Dock Office

A postcard of the Dock Office when it housed the Barry Railway & Docks Company.

It was a luxurious building, costing £59,000, with marble fireplaces, teak panelling and an impressive clock tower (costing an additional £6,000). The architect, Arthur E Bell of Cardiff and Barry, designed it around a calendar theme, and it was built by James Allen & Sons of Cardiff.

In 1941 the docks were bombed and the blast smashed the front elevation windows of the building.

In 1984 an electrical fault caused a fire which virtually destroyed the roof and 2nd floor. But when the clock mechanism collapsed, it was held by the patented Dawney ceiling which saved the building. Happily, the original makers of the clock, William Potts of Leeds, were able to make an exact replica apart from one change – the clock is now electronic and does not need winding!

Next to the side entrance is a plaque commemorating employees of the Barry Railway who died in the First World War. More details here.

Information

David Davies by Alfred Gilbert RA

Alfred Gilbert was one of the top sculptors of his day, commissioned to make a statue of Queen Victoria and numerous memorials for the aristocracy. He studied in Paris, Rome and Florence and was also a goldsmith and experimented with metals. His sculpture of Eros at Piccadilly Circus, London, is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium.

Gilbert was part of a movement called the New Sculpture – a group of British sculptors at the end of the 19th century who wanted to depict the human body with greater naturalism, to create dynamic and vibrant sculptures. Look at Davies’s foot coming over the ledge, as if he’s walking towards us having just pulled open the plans for the Docks. Gilbert does not portray Davies standing in a stiff, self-important pose, but as an active, hard-working man.

Barry residents paid £1200 (about £164,000 today) for this commission.