St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly
Encyclopedia
St Mary's is the largest island
of the Isles of Scilly
, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall
in the United Kingdom
.
(Cornish
: Tre Huw), was sold to the inhabitants by the British
crown in 1949. The rest of the island belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall
. Other settlements on the island are Old Town
, Porthloo
, Holy Vale
, Maypole
, Rocky Hill
and Telegraph
.
The island became the home of British Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
and his final resting place after his death in 1995.
since 1837. The first two lifeboats were kept in a boathouse on the town beach at Hugh Town. Following closure in 1855 the lifeboat station was re-opened in 1874 and a boathouse was built on the beach at Porth Cressa. In 1899 a new boathouse and slipway were built at Carn Thomas and the first motor boat arrived in 1919.
The lifeboatmen of St Mary's have saved many lives in the dangerous seas around the islands, and many have been awarded bravery medals for their courage.
John Wesley
preached here on 13 September 1743. The Wesleyan Methodist Society was established in 1788 and the first chapel erected in 1790. This was replaced in 1828. The present Methodist
church was built in 1899 by A.J. Trenear in Hugh Town
and is part of the Isles of Scilly Methodist Circuit.
for broadcasting. Dating from 1803, it was one of three gun towers built on St Mary's by Major Daniel Lyman. They were intended to accommodate 8-10 men and mount a 32-pounder carronade
at the top. It was at this tower about 1898 that Guglielmo Marconi
heard wireless signals transmitted from Porthcurno
, a distance of 30 miles.
is at the centre of a fortification system around the west side of St Mary’s known as the Garrison. It comprises an outer wall around the outcrop, protecting the town and the castle with strategically placed gun batteries at regular intervals around the outer wall, protecting the castle from all angles. The Castle was built in 1593 by Robert Adams, under the direction of Francis Godolphin
, following the Spanish Armada
of 1588. Fearing another Spanish invasion, Queen Elizabeth I ordered its construction as a lookout for any intruder ships. The walls of the castle take the shape of an eight-pointed star.
In 1740 Master Gunner Abraham Tovey transformed the Garrison building walls with gun batteries in a circular shape following the coast line of The Hoe. Star Castle is now a hotel.
Porthellick Cove contains a memorial to mark the spot where the body of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
was washed ashore after the 1707 Scilly naval disaster. This was one of the greatest maritime
disasters in British history, when four ships (Association
, Firebrand
, Romney
and Eagle
) with nearly 2,000 sailors were lost.
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...
of the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Description
The main town, Hugh TownHugh Town
Hugh Town is the main settlement on the Isles of Scilly. The town is situated on the island of St. Mary's It is located on a narrow isthmus which joins the peninsula known as The Garrison with the rest of the island of St. Mary's....
(Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
: Tre Huw), was sold to the inhabitants by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
crown in 1949. The rest of the island belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
. Other settlements on the island are Old Town
Old Town, Isles of Scilly
Old Town is a village on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly located south of Hugh Town. It is thought to be the oldest settlement on the island. There is a church, an Inn 'The Old Town Inn', two cafes, a village store and a day nursery. It is a popular tourist area and is only a short distance from...
, Porthloo
Porthloo
Porthloo is a hamlet on the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. It lies about half a mile north of Hugh Town and is a popular tourist spot with hotels, guest houses and restaurants. Porthloo Beach faces west - there are two islets called Taylor's Island and Newford Island which are very...
, Holy Vale
Holy Vale
Holy Vale is a hamlet on the island of St Mary's, the largest of the Isles of Scilly.It was the scene of the murder of 18-year-old Stephen Menheniott by his father in 1976.-External links:...
, Maypole
Maypole, Isles of Scilly
Maypole is a hamlet located on the island of St. Mary's, the largest of the Isles of Scilly. It is a tourist and farming area. It also contains the only horse riding school in the islands....
, Rocky Hill
Rocky Hill, Isles of Scilly
Rocky Hill is a hamlet in the centre of the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly in the United Kingdom. It is a tourist area and contains an art studio ....
and Telegraph
Telegraph, Isles of Scilly
Telegraph is the name of a hamlet on St Mary's, the largest of the Isles of Scilly. The only golf course on the lsland is located nearby. It is located in the north west of the island....
.
The island became the home of British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
and his final resting place after his death in 1995.
Transport
St Mary's Airport, the main airport for the Isles of Scilly is located on the island.RNLI
There has been an RNLI lifeboat station on St Mary'sSt Mary's Lifeboat
St Mary's Lifeboat Station is situated in St Mary's Habour, Isles of Scilly and has been an important station for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since the service began in 1837, however without service between 1855 and 1874.-Lifeboats at St Mary's:...
since 1837. The first two lifeboats were kept in a boathouse on the town beach at Hugh Town. Following closure in 1855 the lifeboat station was re-opened in 1874 and a boathouse was built on the beach at Porth Cressa. In 1899 a new boathouse and slipway were built at Carn Thomas and the first motor boat arrived in 1919.
The lifeboatmen of St Mary's have saved many lives in the dangerous seas around the islands, and many have been awarded bravery medals for their courage.
Churches
For the Anglican churches see St Mary's Church, St Mary's and St Mary's Old Church, St Mary's.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...
preached here on 13 September 1743. The Wesleyan Methodist Society was established in 1788 and the first chapel erected in 1790. This was replaced in 1828. The present Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
church was built in 1899 by A.J. Trenear in Hugh Town
Hugh Town
Hugh Town is the main settlement on the Isles of Scilly. The town is situated on the island of St. Mary's It is located on a narrow isthmus which joins the peninsula known as The Garrison with the rest of the island of St. Mary's....
and is part of the Isles of Scilly Methodist Circuit.
Telegraph Tower
The Coastguard's Lookout Tower is also known as the Telegraph Tower. It is used by Radio ScillyRadio Scilly
Radio Scilly is a not for profit, non-profit distributing community radio station, owned and run by Keri Jones. It launched at 2pm on 3 September 2007, and broadcasts to 2,100 residents of the Isles of Scilly...
for broadcasting. Dating from 1803, it was one of three gun towers built on St Mary's by Major Daniel Lyman. They were intended to accommodate 8-10 men and mount a 32-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
at the top. It was at this tower about 1898 that Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
heard wireless signals transmitted from Porthcurno
Porthcurno
Porthcurno is a small village in the parish of St. Levan located in a valley on the south coast of the county of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is approximately to the west of the market town of Penzance and about from Land's End, the most westerly point of the English mainland...
, a distance of 30 miles.
Harry's Walls
Harry's Walls are the remains of an unfinished artillery castle situated on a hilltop to the north-east of Hugh Town. It was begun in 1551 as part of a major phase of fortification on the Isles of Scilly, undertaken to counter threats from the French. It was left unfinished because the site was recognised to be unsuitable.Giants Castle
Giants Castle is a ruined monument on the coastal path between the airfield and Porthellick Bay.The Garrison and Star Castle
Star CastleStar Castle, Isles of Scilly
Star Castle is a fortress on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, built in 1593 by Francis Godolphin.It is in the shape of an eight-pointed star and features on the flag of the Council of the Isles of Scilly.It is now used as a hotel.- External links :*...
is at the centre of a fortification system around the west side of St Mary’s known as the Garrison. It comprises an outer wall around the outcrop, protecting the town and the castle with strategically placed gun batteries at regular intervals around the outer wall, protecting the castle from all angles. The Castle was built in 1593 by Robert Adams, under the direction of Francis Godolphin
Francis Godolphin (1540-1608)
Sir Francis Godolphin was an English Member of Parliament. The nephew of Sir William Godolphin, who left no male issue, he succeeded to his uncle's estates early in Queen Elizabeth's reign...
, following the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
of 1588. Fearing another Spanish invasion, Queen Elizabeth I ordered its construction as a lookout for any intruder ships. The walls of the castle take the shape of an eight-pointed star.
In 1740 Master Gunner Abraham Tovey transformed the Garrison building walls with gun batteries in a circular shape following the coast line of The Hoe. Star Castle is now a hotel.
Peninnis Head
The 14 metre metal tower lighthouse on Peninnis Head was built in 1911 as a replacement for the 1680 lighthouse in the centre of St Agnes. The lighthouse was converted from acetylene gas to electricty in 1992 and the original range of 17 nautical miles was reduced to nine in 2011.Porthellick Cove
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
was washed ashore after the 1707 Scilly naval disaster. This was one of the greatest maritime
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
disasters in British history, when four ships (Association
HMS Association
HMS Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age.-Service:Association...
, Firebrand
HMS Firebrand (1694)
HMS Firebrand was a Royal Navy fireship built at Limehouse in 1694, the first Royal Naval vessel to bear the name.-Service:Firebrand served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean...
, Romney
HMS Romney (1694)
HMS Romney was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Blackwall Yard in 1694.Commanded by Captain William Coney, Romney was wrecked on the Scilly Isles on 26 October 1707 when a disastrous navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous...
and Eagle
HMS Eagle (1679)
HMS Eagle was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1679.She underwent a rebuild at Chatham Dockyard in 1699, retaining her armament of 70 guns....
) with nearly 2,000 sailors were lost.
Other locations
The following is a list of some other locations on St Mary's:- Lower Moors Nature Reserve
- Higher Moors Nature Reserve
- Holy ValeHoly ValeHoly Vale is a hamlet on the island of St Mary's, the largest of the Isles of Scilly.It was the scene of the murder of 18-year-old Stephen Menheniott by his father in 1976.-External links:...
- Porthellick Pool
- Porthellick Down
- Porthloo Beach
- Porthcressa Bay
- Porthmellon Beach
- Watermill Cove
- Innisidgen Burial Chamber
Population
- 1841 - 1,519 plus 26 in the Garrison
- 1861 - 1,424
- 1871 - 1,368
- 1881 - 1,290
- 1891 - 1,201
- 1901 - 1,355
- 1911 - 1,376
- 1921 - 1,196
- 1931 - 1,216
- 1951 - 1,625
- 1961 - 1,736
- 1971 - 1,958
- 1981 - 2,073
- 1991 - 1,600
- 2001 - 1,666
See also
- List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly
- List of windmills in Cornwall#Isles of Scilly