St Barruc’s Chapel

St Barruc is said to have been buried on Barry Island, possibly at the chapel which was dedicated to him. The ruins of this chapel are on Friar’s Road overlooking Jackson Bay. According to tradition, the Irish 6th century St Barruc (or Baruc, Barrwg, Barri, Baruck or Baruch) was a disciple of St Cadoc and was one day tasked with bringing a book or some kind of reading matter to St Cadoc on Barry Island from Holm Island. St Barroc forgot and was sent back to fetch it. Wirt Sykes in British Goblins (1881) describes what happen on his return. St Cadoc was ‘sitting on a hill-top in that island (Barry) when he saw the two saints Barruc and Gwalches drawing near in a boat, and as he looked the boat was overturned by the wind. Both saints were drowned, and Cadoc’s manual book, which they had in the boat with them, was lost in the sea. But when Cadoc proceeded to order his dinner, a salmon was brought to him which being cut open was found to have the missing manual book in its belly in an unimpaired condition.’

According to S Baring-Gould in ‘The Lives Of The British Saints’ (1907) ‘Cressy in his Church History of Brittany, Rouen, 1668, says, “Baruck r a Hermit, whose memory is celebrated in the Province of the Silures and Region of Glamorgan. He lyes buried in the Isle of Barry, which took its name from him,” and he adds, “In our Martyrologe this Holy Hermit Baruck is said to have sprung from the Noble Blood of the Brittains, and entering into a solitary strict course of life, he at this time (A.D. 700) attained to a life immortal!”.

In 1895 the chapel was excavated by John Storrie and in 1967 by Jeremy Knight.