Écréhous
Encyclopedia
The Écréhous are a group of island
s and rocks situated six miles north-east of Jersey
(eight miles from France
). They form part of the Bailiwick
of Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St. Martin
.
The most significant islets in the group are:
others include:
All but the three largest are submerged at high tide. There are no permanent residents on the islands and there is no fresh water there. Due to erosion, they are now much smaller than they may have been within historic times. Maîtr'Île is the largest of the islets and measures approximately 300 metres in length. There are a small number of fishermen's huts, some used as holiday residences, on the largest islets, and one official building, a customs house, on La Marmotchiéthe.
The name 'Ecréhous' is Norse in origin. "Esker" as in Skerry meaning a stony bank and 'Hou
', the toponym found also in Jethou
, Lihou
, Brecqhou
, Burhou
and other islets, derives from holm, meaning island. The first part of the name appears to be traced back to the Norse word sker, meaning reef
. The Ecréhous are actually, geologically, part of the same island group as Les Dirouilles
(west) and Les Pierres de Lecq
('the Paternosters') (further west).
Thousands of years ago, around the time of the Ice Age, the islands were high ground forming part of a plain connecting the European Continent, and southern England, due to lower sea levels.
The islets, along with the other Channel Islands and the Cotentin Peninsula
, were annexed to the Duchy of Normandy
in 933. After William, Duke of Normandy
conquered England in 1066 the islands remained united to the Duchy until the conquest of mainland Normandy
in 1204 by Philip Augustus. In 1203, shortly before the division of Normandy in 1204, John, Duke of Normandy
granted the Ecréhous to the Abbey of Valricher that they might build a church there. In 1259 Henry III
did homage to the French king for the Channel Islands. In 1309 it was reported that a prior was living in the Ecréhous with one monk and a servant; a navigation light was lit every night. While Edward III
in the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny
waived his claims to the crown of France and to Normandy, he reserved various territories to England. In 1413 alien priories were suppressed and the monks returned to Valricher, and their church and priory on La Maîtr'Île fell into ruins. The chapel measured 10 ft 3 ins in width and 16 ft 6 ins in length; the priory accommodation for the monks formed an extension to the chapel.
In the 17th century the Écréhous were used by smugglers.
Though they are only inhabited sporadically by holidaymakers and fishermen, in the past there have been more permanent residents on Les Ecréhous due to more abundant vegetation. Two eccentrics who lived on the Ecréhous for a long time proclaimed themselves to be Le Roi des Ecréhous (The king of the Ecréhous) and claimed that sovereignty over the islands belonged to them. Philippe Pinel lived on Bliantch'Île from 1848 to 1898 and exchanged gifts with Queen Victoria
. In the 1960s and 1970s Alphonse Le Gastelois found refuge in the islands from unfounded public suspicion of being the Beast of Jersey
(a notorious sexual attacker of children who was later arrested, thus clearing Le Gastelois of suspicion).
In the 19th and early 20th centuries there were several occasions on which nominal control was displayed - e.g. flags and buoys, and there were several occasions on which the British government indicated to the French government that it wished to settle the matter.
In 1950 Britain
and France
went to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) for friendly discussions to decide to which country the Minquiers
and Écréhous belonged. The French fished in the waters, but Jersey
exercised various administrative rights. Certain maps showed the Ecréhous islands as not being part of Jersey. The ICJ considered the historical evidence, and in its Judgment of 17 November 1953 awarded the islands to Jersey.
In 1993 and again in 1994, French 'invaders' from mainland Normandy
landed on the Ecréhous and raised Norman flags. This was done partly in protest against Channel Island fishing regulations and partly because they wanted the Ecréhous to be recognised as part of France. The 1994 'invasion' was monitored closely by States
and honorary police
from Jersey, and the Union Flag
that had been pulled down in 1993 was guarded by policemen. In the end, after only minor trouble being caused, the French had lunch on the islands before going back home. A priest who was part of the expedition said mass on the islands for the first time since the ruined abbey was in use (some hundreds of years). He created an outline of a church and altar using vraic he collected from the sea.
La Marmotchiéthe is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 50 pound note
.
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...
s and rocks situated six miles north-east of 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...
(eight miles from France
France
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...
). They form part of 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 Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St. Martin
Saint Martin, Jersey
-Subdivisions:St. Martin is divided into vingtaines as follows:*La Vingtaine de Rozel*La Vingtaine de Faldouet*La Vingtaine de la Quéruée*La Vingtaine de l'Église*La Vingtaine du Fief de la ReineThe Écréhous are part of the parish of St...
.
The most significant islets in the group are:
- Maîtr'Île
- La Marmotchiéthe ('La Marmotière' in gallicizedFrench languageFrench 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...
form) - Lé Bliantch'Île (La Blanche Île in gallicized form);
others include:
- Les D'mies
- La Grand' Naithe
- L'Êtchièrviéthe
- Lé Fou
- La Froutchie
All but the three largest are submerged at high tide. There are no permanent residents on the islands and there is no fresh water there. Due to erosion, they are now much smaller than they may have been within historic times. Maîtr'Île is the largest of the islets and measures approximately 300 metres in length. There are a small number of fishermen's huts, some used as holiday residences, on the largest islets, and one official building, a customs house, on La Marmotchiéthe.
The name 'Ecréhous' is Norse in origin. "Esker" as in Skerry meaning a stony bank and 'Hou
-hou
-hou is a suffix found commonly in Channel Islands and Norman names. It is the Norman language version of the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small island, and often found anglicised elsewhere as "holm". It can still be found in modern Scandinavian languages, e.g...
', the toponym found also in Jethou
Jethou
Jethou is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased, and not open to the public.It is immediately south of Herm and has an area of approximately .-History:...
, Lihou
Lihou
Not to be confused with Lihou Reef National Nature ReserveLihou is a small tidal island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Channel Islands. It lies off the west coast of Guernsey and is the most westerly point in the Channel Islands. Coordinates: . The island was bought by the States 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...
, Burhou
Burhou
Burhou is a small island approximately 1.4 miles northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to July 27...
and other islets, derives from holm, meaning island. The first part of the name appears to be traced back to the Norse word sker, meaning reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
. The Ecréhous are actually, geologically, part of the same island group as Les Dirouilles
Les Dirouilles
Les Dirouilles are a range of rocks to the North-East of Jersey.They have a large range of names, taken individually, and are also known as just Les Pièrres .-External links:*...
(west) and Les Pierres de Lecq
Pierres de Lecq
Les Pierres de Lecq or the Paternosters are a group of uninhabitable rocks or a reef in the Bailiwick of Jersey between Jersey and Sark, 6 km north of Grève de Lecq in Saint Mary, and 22.4 km west of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy.Only three of the rocks remain visible at high tide: L'Êtaîthe...
('the Paternosters') (further west).
History
The islets, along with the other Channel Islands and the Cotentin Peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
, were annexed to 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...
in 933. After William, Duke of Normandy
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
conquered England in 1066 the islands remained united to the Duchy until the conquest of mainland 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:...
in 1204 by Philip Augustus. In 1203, shortly before the division of Normandy in 1204, John, Duke of Normandy
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
granted the Ecréhous to the Abbey of Valricher that they might build a church there. In 1259 Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
did homage to the French king for the Channel Islands. In 1309 it was reported that a prior was living in the Ecréhous with one monk and a servant; a navigation light was lit every night. While Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
in the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny
Treaty of Brétigny
The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty signed on May 9, 1360, between King Edward III of England and King John II of France. In retrospect it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War —as well as the height of English hegemony on the Continent.It was signed...
waived his claims to the crown of France and to Normandy, he reserved various territories to England. In 1413 alien priories were suppressed and the monks returned to Valricher, and their church and priory on La Maîtr'Île fell into ruins. The chapel measured 10 ft 3 ins in width and 16 ft 6 ins in length; the priory accommodation for the monks formed an extension to the chapel.
In the 17th century the Écréhous were used by smugglers.
Though they are only inhabited sporadically by holidaymakers and fishermen, in the past there have been more permanent residents on Les Ecréhous due to more abundant vegetation. Two eccentrics who lived on the Ecréhous for a long time proclaimed themselves to be Le Roi des Ecréhous (The king of the Ecréhous) and claimed that sovereignty over the islands belonged to them. Philippe Pinel lived on Bliantch'Île from 1848 to 1898 and exchanged gifts with Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. In the 1960s and 1970s Alphonse Le Gastelois found refuge in the islands from unfounded public suspicion of being the Beast of Jersey
Edward Paisnel
Edward 'Ted' Paisnel , dubbed the Beast of Jersey, was a notorious sex offender who terrorised the Channel Island of Jersey for a period of eleven years from 1960. He entered homes at night dressed in a rubber mask and nail-studded wristlets, attacking women and children. Reports that he would...
(a notorious sexual attacker of children who was later arrested, thus clearing Le Gastelois of suspicion).
In the 19th and early 20th centuries there were several occasions on which nominal control was displayed - e.g. flags and buoys, and there were several occasions on which the British government indicated to the French government that it wished to settle the matter.
In 1950 Britain
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...
and France
France
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...
went to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(ICJ) for friendly discussions to decide to which country the Minquiers
Minquiers
The Minquiers are a group of islands and rocks situated 9 miles south of Jersey forming part of the Bailiwick of Jersey....
and Écréhous belonged. The French fished in the waters, but 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...
exercised various administrative rights. Certain maps showed the Ecréhous islands as not being part of Jersey. The ICJ considered the historical evidence, and in its Judgment of 17 November 1953 awarded the islands to Jersey.
In 1993 and again in 1994, French 'invaders' from mainland 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:...
landed on the Ecréhous and raised Norman flags. This was done partly in protest against Channel Island fishing regulations and partly because they wanted the Ecréhous to be recognised as part of France. The 1994 'invasion' was monitored closely by States
States of Jersey Police
The States of Jersey Police is the professional police service of Jersey. It was established in its current form by the Police Force Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers....
and honorary police
Honorary Police
There is an Honorary Police force in each of the 12 parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid....
from Jersey, and the Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
that had been pulled down in 1993 was guarded by policemen. In the end, after only minor trouble being caused, the French had lunch on the islands before going back home. A priest who was part of the expedition said mass on the islands for the first time since the ruined abbey was in use (some hundreds of years). He created an outline of a church and altar using vraic he collected from the sea.
La Marmotchiéthe is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 50 pound note
Jersey pound
The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in pound sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern...
.