Sark
Encyclopedia
Sark is a small island
in the Channel Islands
in southwestern English Channel
, off the French coast of Normandy
. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick
of Guernsey
, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 600. Sark's economy depends primarily on tourism. Sark has an area of 2.1 square miles (5.44 km²).
to the south. They are connected by a narrow isthmus
called La Coupée which is 300 feet (91.4 m) long and has a drop of 330 feet (100.6 m) on each side. Protective railing
s were erected in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge. There is a narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus, built in 1945 by German
prisoners of war
under the direction of the Royal Engineers
. Due to isolation, the inhabitants of Little Sark had their own distinct form of Sercquiais
, the native Norman dialect
of the island.
The highest point on Sark is 374 feet (114 m) above sea-level. A windmill
, dated 1571, is found there, the sails of which were removed during World War I. This high point is named Le Moulin
, after the windmill. The location is also the highest point in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Little Sark had a number of mines accessing a source of galena
. At Port Gorey, the ruins of silver mines may be seen. Off the south end of Little Sark are the Venus Pool and the Adonis Pool, both natural swimming pools whose waters are refreshed at high tide.
The whole island is extensively penetrated at sea level by natural cave formations that provide unique habitats for many marine creatures, notably sea anemones, some of which are only safely accessible at low tide. Sea Ravens are very common in Sark.
Sark is made up mainly of the rocks amphibolite
and granite
gneiss
es, intruded by igneous magma sheets called quartz diorite
. Recent (1990–2000) geological studies and rock age dating by geologists from Oxford Brookes University shows that the gneisses probably formed around 620-600 million years ago during the Late Precambrian-age Cadomian Orogeny
. The quartz diorite sheets were intruded during this Cadomian deformation and metamorphic event. All the Sark rocks (and nearby Channel Islands of Guernsey & Alderney) formed during geological activity in continental crust above an ancient subduction zone. This geological setting would have been analogous to the modern day subduction zone of the Pacific ocean plate colliding and subducting beneath the North and South American continental plate.
Sark also exercises jurisdiction over the island of Brecqhou
, only a few hundred feet west of Greater Sark. It is a private island
that is not open to visitors. Since 1993 Brecqhou has been owned by David Barclay, one of the Barclay brothers, co-owners of The Daily Telegraph
. They contest Sark's control over the island.
tribe almost certainly possessed the island in ancient times. These people were subdued by the Roman Empire
in around 56 BC and the island would have been annexed to the empire. Following the end of the Roman Empire and before the middle of the tenth century Sark had probably been an appendage of one of the Breton speaking
kingdoms. After 933 it became a part of the Duchy of Normandy
which became united with the Crown of England after 1066. In the thirteenth century, Sark was used as a base of operations by the French pirate, Eustace the Monk
, after he served King John of England
. Although populated by monastic
communities in the medieval period, Sark was uninhabited in the 16th century and used as a refuge and raiding base by Channel
pirates. Helier de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen
in Jersey
, received Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I
granting him Sark in fief in perpetuity on condition that he maintained the island free of pirates and occupied by at least 40 men who were the Queen's subjects, which he duly did, bringing with him 40 families mostly from St. Ouen.
An attempt by the newly settled families to endow themselves with a constitution under a bailiff
, as in Jersey, was put down by the authorities of Guernsey who resented any attempt to wrest Sark from their bailiwick.
In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver
mine
on the island, the incumbent Seigneur, Ernest le Pelley
, obtained crown permission to mortgage the Fief of Sark to local privateer
John Allaire; but the mine company went bankrupt, and he was unable to keep up the mortgage payments.
In 1849, his son, Pierre Carey le Pelley
, the new Seigneur, was forced to sell the seigneurie of Sark to Marie Collings
, daughter and heiress of Allaire, for £6,000.
During World War II
, the island was occupied by German forces
from 1940–1945, as were the other Channel Islands
. The Island Kommandant of Guernsey, Major Albrecht Lanz, arrived at Creux Harbour by boat on 3 July 1940 with his interpreter and chief of staff Major Maas and they met the Dame and Seigneur at the Seigneurie to announce the start of German military rule. The next day German troops arrived to occupy the island. In early October 1942, Sark was the site of a British raid called Operation Basalt
.
nuclear physicist named André Gardes attempted a singlehanded invasion of Sark, armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The night Gardes arrived, he put up signs declaring his intention to take over the island the following day at noon. He was arrested while sitting on a bench, changing the gun's magazine and waiting for noon to arrive, by the island's volunteer constable
.
. Under the old system, Sark's parliament consisted of a 54-member chamber that included of the Seigneur, the Seneschal, 40 tenant members and 12 deputies. On 16 January 2008 and 21 February 2008, the Chief Pleas approved a law which introduced a 30-member chamber, with 28 members elected in island-wide elections, one hereditary member and one member appointed for life. The old system was described as feudal, and hence objectionable, because the Tenants were seen to be able to sit in Chief Pleas as of right, and the new system has been described as democratic, and hence acceptable. Also, the Tenants were also elected by and from among only the joint owners of each Tenement. On 9 April 2008, the Privy Council
approved the Sark law reforms, and the first elections under the new law were held in December 2008 and the new chamber first convened in January 2009.
Some Sark residents have complained that the new system is not democratic and have compared the powers the new law granted to the Seneschal, an unelected member whose term the new law extended to the duration of his natural life, to being imperial or dictatorial. The Court of Appeal has indeed ruled his powers to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and his powers are subject to further legal challenges on these grounds.
. This designation recognises that Sark is sufficiently clear of light pollution
to allow naked-eye astronomy
.
Though Sark was aided in its achievement by its location, its historic ban on cars and lack of public lighting, it was also necessary for local residents to make adjustments, such as re-siting lights, to cut the light pollution.
Following an audit in 2010 by the IDA the designation was made in January 2011. The award is significant in that Sark is the first island community to have achieved this; other Dark-Sky Places have, up to now, been mainly uninhabited areas, and IDA Chairman Martin Morgan-Taylor commended Sark residents for their effort.
in Europe
. Together with the other Channel Islands
, it is the last remnant of the former Duchy of Normandy
still belonging to the Crown
. Sark belongs to the Crown
in its own right and has an independent relationship with the Crown through the Lieutenant Governor in Guernsey.
Formally, the Seigneur holds it as a fief from the Crown, reenfeoffing
the landowners on the island with their respective parcels. The political consequences of this construction were abolished in recent years, particularly in the reform of the legislative body, Chief Pleas, which took place in 2008.
Although geographically located within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Sark is fiscally entirely separate from it and has been granted its own UN country code (680) to assist in identifying this fact to the world at large. Together with the islands of Alderney and Guernsey, Sark from time to time approves Bailiwick of Guernsey legislation, which, subject to the approval of all three legislatures, applies in the entire Bailiwick. Legislation cannot be made which applies on Sark without the approval of the Chief Pleas, although recently Chief Pleas has been delegating a number of Ordinance making powers to the States of Guernsey. Such powers are, however, in each case subject to dis-application, or repeal, by the Chief Pleas. By long standing custom, Sark's criminal law has been made by the States of Guernsey, and this custom was put on a statutory basis in Section 4 of the Reform (Sark) Law, 2008, by which Sark delegates criminal law making power to the States of Guernsey.
is the current and twenty-second Seigneur of Sark, inheriting the position in 1974.
The Seigneur of Sark was, prior to the constitutional reforms of 2008, the head of the feudal government of the Isle of Sark (in the case of a woman, the title was Dame). Many of the laws, particularly those related to inheritance and the rule of the Seigneur, had changed little since they were enacted in 1565 under Queen Elizabeth I
. The Seigneur retained the sole right on the island to keep pigeons and was until 2008 the only person allowed to keep an unspayed
dog
. In 2008, the latter privilege was abolished (on the proposal of political opponents of the Barclay brothers) supposedly because it did not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Originally each head of a parcel-holding family had the right to vote in Chief Pleas, but in 1604 this right was restricted to the 39 original tenements required by the Letters Patent, the so-called Tenements (quarantaine: French for a group of forty). The newer parcels mostly did not have the obligation to bear arms. In 1611 the dismemberment of tenements was forbidden, but the order was not immediately followed.
In Sark, the word tenant is used (and often pronounced as in French) in the sense of feudal landholder rather than the common English meaning of lessee. Originally, the word referred to any landowner, but today it is mostly used for a holder of one of the Tenements.
(who presides) are also members of Chief Pleas. The Prévôt, the Greffier
, and the Treasurer
also attend but are not members; the Treasurer may address Chief Pleas on matters of taxation and finance.
The executive officers on the island are:
Seneschal, Prevôt, Greffier and Treasurer are chosen by the Seigneur; Constable and Vingtenier are elected by Chief Pleas.
Since 2000, Chief Pleas has been working on its own reform, responding to internal and international pressures. On 8 March 2006 by a vote of 25–15 Chief Pleas voted for a new legislature of the Seigneur, the Seneschal, 14 elected landowners and 14 elected non-landowners. But it was made plain that this option was not on the table. Offered two options for reform involving an elected legislature, one fully elected, one with a number of seats reserved for elected Tenants, 56% of the inhabitants expressed a preference in a totally elected legislature. Following the poll, Chief Pleas voted on 4 October 2006 to replace the 12 Deputies and 40 Tenants in Chief Pleas by 28 Conseillers elected by universal adult suffrage. This decision was suspended in January 2007 when it was pointed out to Chief Pleas that the 56% versus 44% majority achieved in the opinion poll did not achieve the 60% majority required for the constitutional change. The decision was replaced by the proposal that Chief Pleas should consist of 16 Tenants and 12 Conseillers both elected by universal adult suffrage from 2008–2012 and that a binding referendum should then decide whether this composition should be kept or replaced by 28 Conseillers. This proposal was rejected by the Privy Council and the 28 Conseiller option was reinstated in February 2008 and accepted by Privy Council in April 2008.
In 2003, Chief Pleas voted to vary the longstanding ban
on divorce
in the island by extending to the Royal Court of Guernsey power to grant divorces.
Bailiwick of Guernsey Laws and United Kingdom Acts of Parliament can (the latter as also in the case of all the other Channel Islands) be extended to Sark with the consent of Chief Pleas. In practice, Sark does not make its own criminal laws; the responsibility for making criminal law is formally delegated to the States of Guernsey by Section 4(3) of The Reform (Sark) Law, 2008.
The list of current Officers of the Island of Sark:
custom of the Clameur de Haro
. Using this legal device, a person can obtain immediate cessation of any action he considers to be an infringement of his rights. At the scene, he must, in front of witnesses, recite the Lord's Prayer
in French
and cry out "Haro, Haro, Haro! À mon aide mon Prince, on me fait tort!" ("Haro, Haro, Haro! To my aid, my Prince! I am being wronged!"). It should then be registered with the Greffe Office within 24 hours. All actions against the person must then cease until the matter is heard by the Court. The last Clameur recorded on Sark was raised in June 1970 to prevent the construction of a garden wall.
still spoken by older inhabitants of the island. Its use has declined in recent years due to a large influx of people who have moved to Sark.
.
Sark has one school, the Sark School, which takes residents from the ages of 4 to 15.
Pupils wishing to obtain a GCSE
or A-level qualification often finish their education in Guernsey or in England. Though, since 2006, a limited number of GCSEs have been offered to pupils at Sark School. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=sark+school&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1R2TSEF_enJE355&tbm=isch&tbnid=MlKmISmnwKV8cM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-11150158&docid=HB00lvReYC69-M&w=304&h=171&ei=U_Q6Tud-xMu0BqK4zJoE&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=358&vpy=102&dur=4062&hovh=136&hovw=243&tx=173&ty=80&page=1&tbnh=98&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1024&bih=398
The Isle of Sark Shipping Company operates small ferries from Sark to St Peter Port
, Guernsey. The service takes 45 minutes for the 9 miles (14.5 km) crossing. A high-speed passenger ferry is operated in summer by the French company Manche Iles Express to Jersey
. A 12-passenger boat, the Lady Maris II, operates regular services to Alderney
.
The island
is a car-free zone
where the only vehicles allowed are horse-drawn vehicles
, bicycle
s, tractor
s, and battery-powered buggies or motorised bicycles for elderly or disabled people. Passengers and goods arriving by ferry from Guernsey are transported from the wharf by tractor-pulled vehicles. To the dismay of residents, large tractors, which produce even more noise and dust than cars of the same size, have proliferated in recent years.
There is no airport on Sark, and flight over Sark below 2400 ft is prohibited by the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Guernsey) Regulations 1985 (Guernsey 1985/21). The closest airports are Guernsey Airport
and Jersey Airport
. Sark lies directly in line of approach to the runway of Guernsey airport, however, and low-flying aircraft regularly fly over the island.
.
Sark has an Anglican church (St. Peter's, built 1820) and a Methodist church. John Wesley
first proposed a mission to Sark in 1787. Jean de Quetteville of Jersey subsequently began preaching there, initially in a cottage at Le Clos à Geon and then at various houses around Sark. Preachers from Guernsey visited regularly, and in 1796, land was donated by Jean Vaudin, leader of the Methodist community in Sark, for the construction of a chapel, which Jean de Quetteville dedicated in 1797. In the mid-1800s there was a small Plymouth Brethren
assembly. Its most notable member was the classicist William Kelly
(1821–1906). Kelly was then the tutor to the Seigneur's children.
Supported by the evidence of the names of the tenements of La Moinerie and La Moinerie de Haut, it is believed that the Seigneurie was constructed on the site of the monastery
of Saint Magloire
. Magloire had been Samson of Dol
's successor as bishop
of Dol
, but retired and founded a monastery in Sark where he died in the late 6th century. According to the vita of Magloire, the monastery housed 62 monk
s and a school for the instruction of the sons of noble families from the Cotentin. Magloire's relic
s were venerated at the monastery until the mid-9th century when Viking
raids rendered Sark unsafe, and the monks departed for Jersey, taking the relics with them.
in which the Sark national football team
has participated. The annual Sark to Jersey Rowing Race is contested by teams from both bailiwicks.
has included writing about Sark; for example by such authors as Edwin John Luce
, Thomas Grut
, George F. Le Feuvre, and Denys Corbet
.
's novel L'Île aux Trente Cercueils (translated in English as The Secret of Sarek) features an island called Sarek, off the coast of Brittany, and bears obvious similarities to Sark. In the story, gentleman-thief Arsène Lupin
rescues Véronique d'Hergemont from a local superstition requiring the death of thirty women to appease vengeful spirits.
, The Irresistible Rise of Alan B'Stard and also in the Jersey-based television detective series Bergerac
.
Part of the seventh episode of the second series of World War II
television drama Enemy at the Door
takes place in Sark. La Coupée features in a number of scenes.
Sark, and in particular the Gouliot Caves, features in episode 8 of series 3 of the BBC television series Coast
.
Sark was featured in Episode 3 of the 2009 ITV
television series Islands of Britain
, presented by Martin Clunes
; islanders involved in the programme included Alan Blythe (Constable) and Rossford de Carteret.
Sark was featured on the ITV2
programme Holiday Showdown
where one family chose Sark as their holiday destination.
In Episode 2 of the 2009 ITV
mini-series Collision
, Guy Pearson (played by Nicholas Farrell
) says, "I'm moving to the Channel Islands
: Sark. No cars on Sark, it'll be heaven."
In John Shuttleworth In Southern Softies (2009). John and his crew can't find anywhere to stay on the island.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
in southwestern English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, off the French coast of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 600. Sark's economy depends primarily on tourism. Sark has an area of 2.1 square miles (5.44 km²).
Geography and geology
Sark consists of two main parts, Greater Sark, located at about 49° 25' N x 2° 22' W, and Little SarkLittle Sark
Little Sark is a peninsula forming the southern section of the Channel Island of Sark. The island of Brecqhou on the west of Sark, would have been a peninsula like this within recorded history...
to the south. They are connected by a narrow isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
called La Coupée which is 300 feet (91.4 m) long and has a drop of 330 feet (100.6 m) on each side. Protective railing
Railing
Railing may refer to:* Guard rail, a structure blocking an area from access* Handrail, a structure designed to provide support, such as on a staircase* Insufflation , the act of inhaling a substance, generally a drug...
s were erected in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge. There is a narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus, built in 1945 by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
under the direction of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
. Due to isolation, the inhabitants of Little Sark had their own distinct form of Sercquiais
Sercquiais
' also known as Sarkese or Sark-French is the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Sark. In the island it is sometimes known, slightly disparagingly, as the "patois", a French term meaning "regional language"....
, the native Norman dialect
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
of the island.
The highest point on Sark is 374 feet (114 m) above sea-level. A windmill
Windmills in the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands have had a number of windmills over the centuries. They were mostly corn mills, and about half of those built survive in one form or another.-Moulin Huet:Moulin Huet, Guernsey is a tower mill...
, dated 1571, is found there, the sails of which were removed during World War I. This high point is named Le Moulin
Le Moulin
Le Moulin is the highest point in Sark and is also the highest point of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, with an altitude of 114 metres ....
, after the windmill. The location is also the highest point in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Little Sark had a number of mines accessing a source of galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
. At Port Gorey, the ruins of silver mines may be seen. Off the south end of Little Sark are the Venus Pool and the Adonis Pool, both natural swimming pools whose waters are refreshed at high tide.
The whole island is extensively penetrated at sea level by natural cave formations that provide unique habitats for many marine creatures, notably sea anemones, some of which are only safely accessible at low tide. Sea Ravens are very common in Sark.
Sark is made up mainly of the rocks amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
es, intruded by igneous magma sheets called quartz diorite
Quartz diorite
Quartz diorite is an igneous, plutonic rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic texture. Feldspar is present as plagioclase with 10% or less potassium feldspar. Quartz is present at between 5 to 20% of the rock. Biotite, amphiboles and pyroxenes are common dark accessory...
. Recent (1990–2000) geological studies and rock age dating by geologists from Oxford Brookes University shows that the gneisses probably formed around 620-600 million years ago during the Late Precambrian-age Cadomian Orogeny
Cadomian Orogeny
The Cadomian Orogeny was a tectonic event or series of events in the late Neoproterozoic, about 650-550 Ma, which probably included the formation of mountains. This occurred on the margin of the Gondwana continent, involving one or more collisions of island arcs and accretion of other material at a...
. The quartz diorite sheets were intruded during this Cadomian deformation and metamorphic event. All the Sark rocks (and nearby Channel Islands of Guernsey & Alderney) formed during geological activity in continental crust above an ancient subduction zone. This geological setting would have been analogous to the modern day subduction zone of the Pacific ocean plate colliding and subducting beneath the North and South American continental plate.
Sark also exercises jurisdiction over the island of Brecqhou
Brecqhou
Brecqhou is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located just west of Sark and has a surface area of approximately...
, only a few hundred feet west of Greater Sark. It is a private island
Private island
A private island is a disconnected body of land wholly owned by a single private citizen or corporation. Although this exclusivity gives the owner substantial control over the property, they still fall within the jurisdiction of national and sometimes local governments.-Ownership:There are many...
that is not open to visitors. Since 1993 Brecqhou has been owned by David Barclay, one of the Barclay brothers, co-owners of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. They contest Sark's control over the island.
History
The VenetiVeneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
tribe almost certainly possessed the island in ancient times. These people were subdued by the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in around 56 BC and the island would have been annexed to the empire. Following the end of the Roman Empire and before the middle of the tenth century Sark had probably been an appendage of one of the Breton speaking
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
kingdoms. After 933 it became a part of the Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
which became united with the Crown of England after 1066. In the thirteenth century, Sark was used as a base of operations by the French pirate, Eustace the Monk
Eustace the Monk
Eustace the Monk was a mercenary and pirate, in the tradition of medieval outlaws.-Early life:Eustace was born a younger son of Baudoin Busket, a lord of the county of Boulogne...
, after he served King John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. Although populated by monastic
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...
communities in the medieval period, Sark was uninhabited in the 16th century and used as a refuge and raiding base by Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
pirates. Helier de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen
Saint Ouen, Jersey
-Cueillettes:Unlike the other parishes of Jersey, the subdivisions of this parish are not named vingtaines, but cueillettes . Vingteniers are still elected, however, in the cueillettes.*La Petite Cueillette*La Grande Cueillette...
in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, received Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
granting him Sark in fief in perpetuity on condition that he maintained the island free of pirates and occupied by at least 40 men who were the Queen's subjects, which he duly did, bringing with him 40 families mostly from St. Ouen.
An attempt by the newly settled families to endow themselves with a constitution under a bailiff
Bailiff (Channel Islands)
The Bailiff is the chief justice in each of the Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, also serving as president of the legislature and having ceremonial and executive functions. Each bailiwick has possessed its own bailiff since the islands were divided into two jurisdictions in the...
, as in Jersey, was put down by the authorities of Guernsey who resented any attempt to wrest Sark from their bailiwick.
In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
on the island, the incumbent Seigneur, Ernest le Pelley
Ernest le Pelley
Ernest le Pelley, 17th Seigneur of Sark was Seigneur of Sark from 1839 to 1849. In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver mine on the island, he obtained crown permission to mortgage the Fief of Sark for £4,000 to John Allaire, a local privateer. In 1845 the ceiling of...
, obtained crown permission to mortgage the Fief of Sark to local privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
John Allaire; but the mine company went bankrupt, and he was unable to keep up the mortgage payments.
In 1849, his son, Pierre Carey le Pelley
Pierre Carey le Pelley
Pierre Carey le Pelley was Seigneur of Sark from 1849 to 1852. In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver mine on the island, le Pelley's father Ernest le Pelley had obtained crown permission to mortgage the Fief of Sark for £4,000 to John Allaire, a local privateer. In...
, the new Seigneur, was forced to sell the seigneurie of Sark to Marie Collings
Marie Collings
Marie Collings was Dame of Sark from 1852 to 1853. She was the daughter of John Allaire, a privateer from Guernsey. In 1844, desperate for funds to continue the operation of the silver mine on the island, then-Seigneur of Sark Ernest le Pelley had obtained crown permission to mortgage the Fief of...
, daughter and heiress of Allaire, for £6,000.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the island was occupied by German forces
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
from 1940–1945, as were the other Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. The Island Kommandant of Guernsey, Major Albrecht Lanz, arrived at Creux Harbour by boat on 3 July 1940 with his interpreter and chief of staff Major Maas and they met the Dame and Seigneur at the Seigneurie to announce the start of German military rule. The next day German troops arrived to occupy the island. In early October 1942, Sark was the site of a British raid called Operation Basalt
Operation Basalt
Operation Basalt was a small British raid conducted during World War II on the German occupied British Channel Island of Sark.On the night of 3–4 October 1942 ten men of the Special Operations Executive's Small Scale Raiding Force, and No...
.
One-person invasion attempt
In August 1990, an unemployed FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
nuclear physicist named André Gardes attempted a singlehanded invasion of Sark, armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The night Gardes arrived, he put up signs declaring his intention to take over the island the following day at noon. He was arrested while sitting on a bench, changing the gun's magazine and waiting for noon to arrive, by the island's volunteer constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
.
Transition to a new system of government
In 2008, Sark dismantled its previous system of government, which had evolved gradually from its original system established in 1565. Change was influenced by the Barclay brothers on the premise that this was necessary to comply with the European Convention on Human RightsEuropean Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
. Under the old system, Sark's parliament consisted of a 54-member chamber that included of the Seigneur, the Seneschal, 40 tenant members and 12 deputies. On 16 January 2008 and 21 February 2008, the Chief Pleas approved a law which introduced a 30-member chamber, with 28 members elected in island-wide elections, one hereditary member and one member appointed for life. The old system was described as feudal, and hence objectionable, because the Tenants were seen to be able to sit in Chief Pleas as of right, and the new system has been described as democratic, and hence acceptable. Also, the Tenants were also elected by and from among only the joint owners of each Tenement. On 9 April 2008, the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
approved the Sark law reforms, and the first elections under the new law were held in December 2008 and the new chamber first convened in January 2009.
Some Sark residents have complained that the new system is not democratic and have compared the powers the new law granted to the Seneschal, an unelected member whose term the new law extended to the duration of his natural life, to being imperial or dictatorial. The Court of Appeal has indeed ruled his powers to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and his powers are subject to further legal challenges on these grounds.
Dark Sky Community status
In January 2011 Sark was designated a Dark Sky Community, and the first Dark Sky Island in the world, by the International Dark-Sky AssociationInternational Dark-Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association is a U.S.-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders Dr. David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Dr. Timothy Hunter, a medical doctor/amateur astronomer...
. This designation recognises that Sark is sufficiently clear of light pollution
Light pollution
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...
to allow naked-eye astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
.
Though Sark was aided in its achievement by its location, its historic ban on cars and lack of public lighting, it was also necessary for local residents to make adjustments, such as re-siting lights, to cut the light pollution.
Following an audit in 2010 by the IDA the designation was made in January 2011. The award is significant in that Sark is the first island community to have achieved this; other Dark-Sky Places have, up to now, been mainly uninhabited areas, and IDA Chairman Martin Morgan-Taylor commended Sark residents for their effort.
Politics
Sark was considered the last feudal stateFeudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Together with the other Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, it is the last remnant of the former Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
still belonging to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Sark belongs to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
in its own right and has an independent relationship with the Crown through the Lieutenant Governor in Guernsey.
Formally, the Seigneur holds it as a fief from the Crown, reenfeoffing
Enfeoffment
Under the European feudal system, enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another...
the landowners on the island with their respective parcels. The political consequences of this construction were abolished in recent years, particularly in the reform of the legislative body, Chief Pleas, which took place in 2008.
Although geographically located within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Sark is fiscally entirely separate from it and has been granted its own UN country code (680) to assist in identifying this fact to the world at large. Together with the islands of Alderney and Guernsey, Sark from time to time approves Bailiwick of Guernsey legislation, which, subject to the approval of all three legislatures, applies in the entire Bailiwick. Legislation cannot be made which applies on Sark without the approval of the Chief Pleas, although recently Chief Pleas has been delegating a number of Ordinance making powers to the States of Guernsey. Such powers are, however, in each case subject to dis-application, or repeal, by the Chief Pleas. By long standing custom, Sark's criminal law has been made by the States of Guernsey, and this custom was put on a statutory basis in Section 4 of the Reform (Sark) Law, 2008, by which Sark delegates criminal law making power to the States of Guernsey.
Seigneur
John Michael BeaumontJohn Michael Beaumont
John Michael Beaumont, OBE is the 22nd Seigneur of Sark. A retired engineer, he is a son of Francis William Lionel Collings Beaumont and Enid . He succeeded his grandmother, Sibyl Hathaway, as the ruler of Sark upon her death in 1974.- References :...
is the current and twenty-second Seigneur of Sark, inheriting the position in 1974.
The Seigneur of Sark was, prior to the constitutional reforms of 2008, the head of the feudal government of the Isle of Sark (in the case of a woman, the title was Dame). Many of the laws, particularly those related to inheritance and the rule of the Seigneur, had changed little since they were enacted in 1565 under Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. The Seigneur retained the sole right on the island to keep pigeons and was until 2008 the only person allowed to keep an unspayed
Neutering
Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...
dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
. In 2008, the latter privilege was abolished (on the proposal of political opponents of the Barclay brothers) supposedly because it did not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Seneschal
On Sark the Seneschal is the head of the Chief Pleas. Since 1675, he has also been the judge of the island (between 1583 and 1675, judicial functions were exercised by 5 elected Jurats and a Juge). The Seneschal is appointed by the Seigneur. Recently the Chief Pleas decided to split the dual role of the Seneshal following the decision of the English Court of Appeal. The complete list of all the Seneschal of Sark from 1675 is as follows:- Pierre Gibault (15/7/1675-1680)
- Thomas de Beauvoir (1680–1683)
- Phillipe Dumeresq (1683–1702)
- Jean Payne (1702–1707)
- Philippe de Carteret (1707–1744)
- Henri de Carteret (1744–1752)
- Phillipe le Masurier (1752–1777)
- Henri le Masurier (1777–1785)
- Amice le Couteur (1785–1808)
- Jean le Couteur (1808–1812)
- Jean Falle (1812–1830)
- Elie le Masurier (1830–1841)
- Philippe Guille (1841–1851)
- Thomas Godfray (1851–1876)
- William de Carteret (1876–1881)
- Abraham Baker (1881–1891)
- Thomas Godfray (1891–1920)
- Kenneth Campbell (1920–1922)
- Ashby Taylor (1922–1925)
- Frederick de Carteret (1925–1937)
- William Carré (1937–1945)
- William Baker (1945–1969)
- Bernard Jones (1969–1979)
- Hilary Carré (1979–1985)
- Lawrence Philip de Carteret (1985–2000)
- Reginald J. Guille (2000–present)
Tenants
Pursuant to the royal letters patent, the Seigneur was to keep the island inhabited by at least 40 armed men. Therefore, from his lands, 39 parcels, each sufficient for one family, were subdivided and granted to settlers, the Tenants. Later, some of these parcels were dismembered, and parts of the Seigneurial land were sold, creating more parcels.Originally each head of a parcel-holding family had the right to vote in Chief Pleas, but in 1604 this right was restricted to the 39 original tenements required by the Letters Patent, the so-called Tenements (quarantaine: French for a group of forty). The newer parcels mostly did not have the obligation to bear arms. In 1611 the dismemberment of tenements was forbidden, but the order was not immediately followed.
In Sark, the word tenant is used (and often pronounced as in French) in the sense of feudal landholder rather than the common English meaning of lessee. Originally, the word referred to any landowner, but today it is mostly used for a holder of one of the Tenements.
Chief Pleas
Chief Pleas (French: Chefs Plaids; Sercquiais: Cheurs Pliaids) is the parliament of Sark. Until this decade, it consisted of the tenants, and 12 deputies of the people as the only representation of the majority, an office introduced in 1922. The Seigneur and the SeneschalSeneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
(who presides) are also members of Chief Pleas. The Prévôt, the Greffier
Greffier
In the Channel Islands, the Greffier is the clerk to the legislature or a court. The word Greffier is French in origin. The word Greffe refers to the records kept by the Greffier or the department of government under the Greffier's management....
, and the Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
also attend but are not members; the Treasurer may address Chief Pleas on matters of taxation and finance.
The executive officers on the island are:
- The Seneschal (President of Chief Pleas and Chief Judge) and the Deputy Seneschal
- The Prevôt (Sheriff of the Court and of Chief Pleas) and the Deputy Prevôt
- The Greffier (Clerk) and the Deputy Greffier
- The Treasurer (Finances)
- The ConstableConstableA constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
(the senior policeman and administration) and the Vingtenier (the junior policeman)
Seneschal, Prevôt, Greffier and Treasurer are chosen by the Seigneur; Constable and Vingtenier are elected by Chief Pleas.
Since 2000, Chief Pleas has been working on its own reform, responding to internal and international pressures. On 8 March 2006 by a vote of 25–15 Chief Pleas voted for a new legislature of the Seigneur, the Seneschal, 14 elected landowners and 14 elected non-landowners. But it was made plain that this option was not on the table. Offered two options for reform involving an elected legislature, one fully elected, one with a number of seats reserved for elected Tenants, 56% of the inhabitants expressed a preference in a totally elected legislature. Following the poll, Chief Pleas voted on 4 October 2006 to replace the 12 Deputies and 40 Tenants in Chief Pleas by 28 Conseillers elected by universal adult suffrage. This decision was suspended in January 2007 when it was pointed out to Chief Pleas that the 56% versus 44% majority achieved in the opinion poll did not achieve the 60% majority required for the constitutional change. The decision was replaced by the proposal that Chief Pleas should consist of 16 Tenants and 12 Conseillers both elected by universal adult suffrage from 2008–2012 and that a binding referendum should then decide whether this composition should be kept or replaced by 28 Conseillers. This proposal was rejected by the Privy Council and the 28 Conseiller option was reinstated in February 2008 and accepted by Privy Council in April 2008.
In 2003, Chief Pleas voted to vary the longstanding ban
Ban (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
on divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in the island by extending to the Royal Court of Guernsey power to grant divorces.
Bailiwick of Guernsey Laws and United Kingdom Acts of Parliament can (the latter as also in the case of all the other Channel Islands) be extended to Sark with the consent of Chief Pleas. In practice, Sark does not make its own criminal laws; the responsibility for making criminal law is formally delegated to the States of Guernsey by Section 4(3) of The Reform (Sark) Law, 2008.
The list of current Officers of the Island of Sark:
- Seneschal – Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Reginald John Guille- Deputy Seneschal – Jeremy La Trobe-Bateman
- Prevôt – Alfred William John Adams
- Deputy Prevôt – Kevin Neil Adams (son of Alfred William John Adams)
- Greffier – Trevor John Hamon
- Deputy Greffier – John Hamon (father of Trevor John Hamon)
- Treasurer – Mrs Wendy Kiernan
- Constable – Matt Joyner
- Vingtenier – Joanne Godwin
Clameur de Haro
Among the old laws of the Channel Islands is the old NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
custom of the Clameur de Haro
Clameur de haro
The Clameur de Haro is an ancient legal injunction of restraint employed by a person that believes they are being wronged by another at that moment...
. Using this legal device, a person can obtain immediate cessation of any action he considers to be an infringement of his rights. At the scene, he must, in front of witnesses, recite the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and cry out "Haro, Haro, Haro! À mon aide mon Prince, on me fait tort!" ("Haro, Haro, Haro! To my aid, my Prince! I am being wronged!"). It should then be registered with the Greffe Office within 24 hours. All actions against the person must then cease until the matter is heard by the Court. The last Clameur recorded on Sark was raised in June 1970 to prevent the construction of a garden wall.
Sercquiais
Sercquiais (Sarkese, or sometimes called Sark-French) is a dialect of the Norman languageNorman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
still spoken by older inhabitants of the island. Its use has declined in recent years due to a large influx of people who have moved to Sark.
Education
Sark generally follows the education system of England and WalesEngland and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
.
Sark has one school, the Sark School, which takes residents from the ages of 4 to 15.
Pupils wishing to obtain a GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
or A-level qualification often finish their education in Guernsey or in England. Though, since 2006, a limited number of GCSEs have been offered to pupils at Sark School. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=sark+school&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1R2TSEF_enJE355&tbm=isch&tbnid=MlKmISmnwKV8cM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-11150158&docid=HB00lvReYC69-M&w=304&h=171&ei=U_Q6Tud-xMu0BqK4zJoE&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=358&vpy=102&dur=4062&hovh=136&hovw=243&tx=173&ty=80&page=1&tbnh=98&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1024&bih=398
Transport
St Peter Port
Saint Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2001 was 16,488. In Guernésiais and in French, historically the official language of Guernsey, the name of the town and its surrounding parish is St Pierre Port. The "port" distinguishes this parish from...
, Guernsey. The service takes 45 minutes for the 9 miles (14.5 km) crossing. A high-speed passenger ferry is operated in summer by the French company Manche Iles Express to Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. A 12-passenger boat, the Lady Maris II, operates regular services to Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
.
The island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
is a car-free zone
Car-free zone
Pedestrian zones are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian only use and in which some or all automobile traffic may be prohibited. They are instituted by communities who feel that it is desirable to have pedestrian-only areas...
where the only vehicles allowed are horse-drawn vehicles
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
, bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s, tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s, and battery-powered buggies or motorised bicycles for elderly or disabled people. Passengers and goods arriving by ferry from Guernsey are transported from the wharf by tractor-pulled vehicles. To the dismay of residents, large tractors, which produce even more noise and dust than cars of the same size, have proliferated in recent years.
There is no airport on Sark, and flight over Sark below 2400 ft is prohibited by the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Guernsey) Regulations 1985 (Guernsey 1985/21). The closest airports are Guernsey Airport
Guernsey Airport
Guernsey Airport is the largest airport in the Bailiwick of Guernsey and is the only airport on the island of Guernsey. It is located in the Forest, a parish in Guernsey, west southwest of St. Peter Port.-History:...
and Jersey Airport
Jersey Airport
-Busiest routes:Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to European holiday destinations, Madeira and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost, Palmair...
. Sark lies directly in line of approach to the runway of Guernsey airport, however, and low-flying aircraft regularly fly over the island.
Religion
In common with the other Channel Islands, Sark is attached to the Anglican diocese of WinchesterDiocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.Founded in 676, it is one of the oldest and largest of the dioceses in England.The area of the diocese incorporates:...
.
Sark has an Anglican church (St. Peter's, built 1820) and a Methodist church. John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
first proposed a mission to Sark in 1787. Jean de Quetteville of Jersey subsequently began preaching there, initially in a cottage at Le Clos à Geon and then at various houses around Sark. Preachers from Guernsey visited regularly, and in 1796, land was donated by Jean Vaudin, leader of the Methodist community in Sark, for the construction of a chapel, which Jean de Quetteville dedicated in 1797. In the mid-1800s there was a small Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
assembly. Its most notable member was the classicist William Kelly
William Kelly (Guernsey and Blackheath)
William Kelly was born in Millisle, County Down, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and secured a post as governor to the Seigneur of Sark in 1841. He married in Guernsey and in the 1870s moved to Blackheath, London. Kelly became a prominent member of the Plymouth Brethren amongst...
(1821–1906). Kelly was then the tutor to the Seigneur's children.
Supported by the evidence of the names of the tenements of La Moinerie and La Moinerie de Haut, it is believed that the Seigneurie was constructed on the site of the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Saint Magloire
Magloire
Magloire is a Breton saint, one of a number attributed an origin the other side of the English Channel. He is traditionally given to be a relative of Samson of Dol, and his successor as bishop of Dol at the end of the seventh century. At the command of an angel, he gave up this position to Budoc,...
. Magloire had been Samson of Dol
Samson of Dol
Saint Samson of Dol was a Christian religious figure who is counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.-Life:...
's successor as bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Dol
Dol
-Places:* Dol-de-Bretagne, a commune of the Ille-et-Vilaine département in France* Dol pri Borovnici, a village in Borovnica municipality, Slovenia* Dol pri Hrastniku, a village in Hrastnik municipality, Slovenia...
, but retired and founded a monastery in Sark where he died in the late 6th century. According to the vita of Magloire, the monastery housed 62 monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and a school for the instruction of the sons of noble families from the Cotentin. Magloire's relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s were venerated at the monastery until the mid-9th century when Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids rendered Sark unsafe, and the monks departed for Jersey, taking the relics with them.
Sport
Participation in sport tends towards individual sports rather than team sports, but the population supports a cricket team, a rugby team and a football team. Sark competes in the biannual Island GamesInternational Island Games Association
The International Island Games Association is an organisation the sole purpose of which is to organise the Island Games, a friendly biennial athletic competition between teams from several European islands and other small territories. The IGA liaises with the member island associations and with...
in which the Sark national football team
Sark national football team
- 2003 Island Games :Sark has ever only played in the 2003 Island Games in nearby Guernsey and Alderney. The team lost all four matches by at least 15 goals, having the unenviable record of Goals For: 0, Goals Against: 70, from just four matches...
has participated. The annual Sark to Jersey Rowing Race is contested by teams from both bailiwicks.
Norman literature
Although there is no record of literature about Sark in Sercquiais, Guernésiais and Jèrriais literatureJèrriais literature
Jèrriais literature is literature in Jèrriais, the Norman dialect of Jersey in the Channel Islands.The literary tradition in Jersey is traced back to Wace, the 12th century Jersey-born poet, although there is little surviving literature in Jèrriais dating to before the introduction of the first...
has included writing about Sark; for example by such authors as Edwin John Luce
Edwin John Luce
Edwin John Luce was a writer and journalist in Jèrriais, the Norman language of Jersey. He was known to his friends as Jock Luce, and wrote under the pen name of Élie....
, Thomas Grut
Thomas Alfred Grut
Thomas Alfred Grut was a Guernsey photographer and author. He published Des lures guernesiaises in 1927, a collection of newspaper columns in Guernésiais. He also translated some of the Jèrriais stories of Philippe Le Sueur Mourant into Guernésiais.Grut was also one of if not the most noted of all...
, George F. Le Feuvre, and Denys Corbet
Denys Corbet
Denys Corbet was a Channel Islands poet, Naïve painter, and school master. He was the second son of Pierre and Susanne who was born at La Turquie, Vale, Guernsey, Channel Island...
.
English literature
- SwinburneAlgernon Charles SwinburneAlgernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
wrote a poem, In Sark, which appears in the collection A Century of Roundels. - John OxenhamJohn OxenhamWilliam Arthur Dunkerley was a prolific English journalist, novelist and poet. He was born in Manchester, spent a short time after his marriage in America before moving to Ealing, west London, where he served as deacon and teacher at the Ealing Congregational Church from the 1880s, and he...
wrote Carette Of Sark (1907) and his 1910 novel A Maid Of The Silver Sea uses the mines of Little Sark as its setting. - The novel Mr PyeMr Pye-Plot:Mr. Pye travels to the Channel Island of Sark to awaken a love of God in all the islanders. His landlady on the island, Miss Dredger, quickly becomes a devout follower of his teachings. and even agrees to allow the person she hates the most, Miss George, to stay in her house. As Pye does good...
by Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
, best known for the GormenghastGormenghast (series)The Gormenghast series comprises three novels by Mervyn Peake, featuring Castle Gormenghast, and Titus Groan, the title character of the first book.-Works in the series:...
series, is set on Sark. The book has been adapted for radio and television. The TV series, filmed on Sark, starred Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
and Judy ParfittJudy ParfittJudy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
, and featured a number of islanders. Sark may also have been a crucial inspiration for Peake while writing Gormenghast (he lived on the island at some point in his life). - Dame of Sark, the memoirs of the 21st Seigneur Sibyl Mary Hathaway, who was present during the German occupation, were made into a play and television drama of the same name.
- The novel Appointment with VenusAppointment with VenusAppointment with Venus is a novel by Jerrard Tickell published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1951, leading to a film adaptation the same year...
by Jerrard TickellJerrard TickellEdward Jerrard Tickell was an Irish writer known for his novels and World War II historical books.Tickell was born in Dublin and educated in Tipperary and London. He joined the Royal Army Service Corps in 1940 and was commissioned in 1941, when he was appointed to the War Office...
is set on the fictional island of Armorel, which is presumed to be based on Sark. The 1951 filmAppointment with Venus (film)Appointment with Venus is a 1951 film adaptation of the Jerrard Tickell novel of the same name. It was directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E. Box and its screenplay was written by the novelist Nicholas Phipps...
of the book used Sark as a principal location. - Sarah CaudwellSarah CaudwellSarah Caudwell was the pseudonym of Sarah Cockburn , a British barrister and writer of detective stories.She is best known for a series of four murder stories written between 1980 and 1999, centred around the lives of a group of young barristers practicing in Lincoln’s Inn and narrated by a Hilary...
's The Sirens Sang of Murder (1989) is partly set in Sark.
French literature
Maurice LeblancMaurice Leblanc
Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes.- Biography :Leblanc was born in...
's novel L'Île aux Trente Cercueils (translated in English as The Secret of Sarek) features an island called Sarek, off the coast of Brittany, and bears obvious similarities to Sark. In the story, gentleman-thief Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin is a fictional character who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television such as Night Hood, stage play and comic book adaptations.- Overview :A...
rescues Véronique d'Hergemont from a local superstition requiring the death of thirty women to appease vengeful spirits.
Television
Sark featured in the 6th episode of the fourth series of The New StatesmanThe New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
, The Irresistible Rise of Alan B'Stard and also in the Jersey-based television detective series Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
.
Part of the seventh episode of the second series of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
television drama Enemy at the Door
Enemy at the Door
Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War...
takes place in Sark. La Coupée features in a number of scenes.
Sark, and in particular the Gouliot Caves, features in episode 8 of series 3 of the BBC television series Coast
Coast (TV series)
Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. A second series started on 26 October 2006, a third in early 2007 and a fourth in mid-2009...
.
Sark was featured in Episode 3 of the 2009 ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television series Islands of Britain
Islands of Britain (TV series)
Islands of Britain was a 2009 documentary , hosted by Martin Clunes, that visited a number of the islands that lie off the coast of Great Britain.-Episode 1: The North:...
, presented by Martin Clunes
Martin Clunes
Alexander Martin Clunes is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin....
; islanders involved in the programme included Alan Blythe (Constable) and Rossford de Carteret.
Sark was featured on the ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
programme Holiday Showdown
Holiday Showdown
Holiday Showdown is a BAFTA-nominated and Royal Television Society award winning reality television programme, produced by Chris Kelly for the UK independent TV production company RDF Media. It first aired in 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom....
where one family chose Sark as their holiday destination.
In Episode 2 of the 2009 ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
mini-series Collision
Collision (TV series)
Collision is a five-part television drama miniseries, which debuted on ITV in November 2009. In the same month, it was also on PBS as a series in two parts. It tells the story of a group of strangers whose lives intertwine following a devastating car crash...
, Guy Pearson (played by Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas Farrell is an English stage, film and television actor. His early screen career included the role of Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. In 1983, he starred as Edmund Bertram in a television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park...
) says, "I'm moving to the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
: Sark. No cars on Sark, it'll be heaven."
In John Shuttleworth In Southern Softies (2009). John and his crew can't find anywhere to stay on the island.
External links
- Official government site
- Official Sark tourism site
- BBC – Feudal island brings in democracy
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/12/barclay-brothers-sark-democratic-election, GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 12 December 2008 - Documentary about Sark
- Official Sark Surgery site
- Pictures of La Coupée
- Sark Folk Festival (International Folk, Roots, & Acoustic Festival)
- Toplis: Artist of Sark. Biography of William A Toplis