The birth of Barry Docks.

Work began on the new dock at Barry on 14 November 1884which opened for trade in 1889. Later, further docks were added and by 1903 exports had risen to over nine million tons. By 1913, Barry had become the largest coal exporting port in the country. 

The docks gave rise to many subsidiary business enterprises, from repair yards and cold storage facilities to flour mills and shipping agents. Even when a worldwide depression in the 1920s  began to decimate the Welsh coal trade, there were still more than fifty companies trading out of Barry docks. Eventually, the collapse of the Welsh coal trade left Barry and its docks redundant. The arrival of the Geest Company in 1959, importing bananas from the West Indies, provided a temporary reprieve, but when the company withdrew in the 1980s, the port of Barry went into terminal decline.

Today, the old waterfront has been redeveloped, like many other dockland areas. Parts of the old docks have been used as locations for TV shows like Doctor Who and Torchwood and, of course, the television series Gavin and Stacey was set and filmed in Barry.

In November 1908 The North and South Wales Bank was absorbed into the London City and Midland Bank, bringing an end to independent banking in Wales.   

Between 1780 and 1908 many towns in Wales would have had their own bank, local enterprises run and backed by local investors. They issued their own notes redeemable either at the bank itself, at another bank with which it had a mutual agreement or exchanged for a Bank of England note. The banks were linked to the trade or economy of their area, for example, the Aberystwyth & Tregaron Bank was known as 'Banc y Ddafad Ddu' or 'Bank of the Black Sheep'. 

Many Welsh banks collapsed in the 1820s and 30s in the wake of national events like the South Sea Bubble. Others were taken over by larger institutions so that by the beginning of the 20th century there were no freestanding Welsh banks.  

Today is the birthday of Charles 'Prince of Wales' - but at the age when most seek to retire, Charles has yet to start the job he was born to do. 

Heir to the throne since he was three years old, Charles is now a pensioner, and like thousands of others claims his pension - but will be donating it to an unnamed charity which supports the elderly.  The Prince is entitled to the state benefit because he paid National Insurance contributions whilst in the Navy in the 1970s and made voluntary contributions later. 

A king in waiting for more than 60 years, he has carried out countless royal engagements over the decades, undertaking 480 in the UK and 112 overseas in 2012 alone.  The Prince is the oldest heir to the throne for almost 300 years and the longest serving heir to the throne in recorded UK history.

Today is the feast day of Saint Dyfrig 

Born at Madley on the River Wye, he was one of the prominent Celtic saints in the 7th century. He was believed to be the son of Eurddil of Ergyng, which is now part of modern Herefordshire.

He was known as a scholar and founded a college at Henllan (Hentland in Herefordshire) which was attended by many noted scholars, including St Illtud.  Dyfrig was later chosen to be the first Bishop of Llandaff. Eventually, Dyfrig retired to Bardsey Island with his disciples, where he lived as a hermit until his death in about 612. His remains were later interred at Llandaff, in a tomb before the Lady Altar in 'the old monastery' which later became the cathedral church. 

The Texaco oil refinery in Pembroke went back into full production on 14th November 1994 after a massive explosion ripped through the plant, causing millions of pounds worth of damage. 

At around 13:00 on 24 July 1994, Twenty-six people were injured on 24th July of that year when an explosion devastated the plant. The shockwave damaged properties within 10 miles of the plant and the blast was heard 40 miles away. Shortly before the explosion, a lightning storm in the area had caused disturbances, with a subsequent fire taking several hours to extinguish. Fire appliances were drafted in from Swansea and Cardiff with more than 130 firefighters assisting.