Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies. Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under the t ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll it is immediately south of

Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English ...

and covers approximately .

History

There is evidence of flint manufacturing in an area exposed only at low water between the island and

Crevichon Crevichon is an islet off the west coast of Herm, immediately to the north of Jethou, in the Channel Islands According to S. K. Kellett-Smith, it means "isle of crabs, crayfish or cranes". Like other names in the region, it is Norman in origin ...

which shows occupation around 10,000 BC. It is said that in AD 709 a storm washed away the strip of land that connected the island with Herm. The Vikings called the island . The island's current name retains the related Norman ''

-hou ''-hou'' or ''hou'' is a place-name element found commonly in the Norman toponymy of the Channel Islands and continental Normandy. Etymology and signification Its etymology and meaning are disputed, but most specialists think it comes from Saxo ...

'' suffix, meaning 'small island' or 'small hill'. In 1416, it became part of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

's estate and still remains Crown property, now leased to the States of

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. On the top is a marker. It is said that in earlier times, pirates were hanged on it with chains, as on nearby

Modern history

In 1867 Lt Colonel Montague Fielden became the island's tenant. However he was discovered using the island as a storehouse for smuggling

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

from France. From 1920 to 1923 it was leased by the Scottish novelist

Compton MacKenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish independence, Scottish nation ...

along with

and remained part of that estate for years, although it is currently part of a different one. From September 1964 until December 1971 the island was occupied by the Faed family – Angus Faed, his wife Susan Faed and their four children, Colin, Erik, Colette and Amanda. Mrs Susan Faed was the 22nd tenant of Jethou. In the 1950s and 60s the island was open to the public. During that period

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s were issued. Local stamps on the

were banned on 1 October 1969, and the Isle of Jethou was closed to the public from 1970. In 1972, Charles Hayward, founder of the

Firth Cleveland Sir Charles William Hayward, CBE KStJ (3 September 1892 – 3 February 1983) was an English businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Early life Born in 1892, Charles Hayward was the second child of John Hayward, a cycle manufacturer, and his ...

Group of Companies, purchased the Crown tenancy of the island and lived there with his wife Elsie Darnell George until his death in 1983. In 1996 the island was leased by

Sir Peter Ogden Sir Peter Ogden (born 1940) is an English businessman who is one of the founders of Computacenter, one of the United Kingdom's largest computer businesses. Education Ogden was born in Rochdale, England. He was educated at Rochdale Grammar Sch ...

of IT company

Computacenter Computacenter plc is a British multinational that provides computer services to public- and private-sector customers. It is a UK company based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituen ...

. It was recognised in 2016 as an area of international environmental importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

. It is flanked by two

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

to the north and Fauconnière to the south. There is one house on the island and two cottages as well as a large garage where vehicles such as

quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...

s and

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

s are stored.

Governance

Unlike the largely autonomous islands of

Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...

and

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...

within the Bailiwick, Jethou is administered entirely by the States of Guernsey, and elects members to the

States of Deliberation The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guern ...

as part of the St. Peter Port South electoral district.

Wildlife

At the back (east) of Jethou,

puffins Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

can be seen swimming off the rocks.

Jethou in popular culture

The British 1957 musical ''

Free as Air ''Free as Air'' is a musical with lyrics by Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade and music by Julian Slade. They are the same team responsible for the much better known musical ''Salad Days'', although ''Free as Air'' is said to be "more slick and p ...

'' by

Dorothy Reynolds Dorothy Reynolds (26 January 1913 – 7 April 1977) was a British writer and actress. She is mainly known for writing a number of musicals in collaboration with Julian Slade. The best known were ''Salad Days'' and ''Free as Air''. Filmography * ...

and

Julian Slade Julian Penkivil Slade (28 May 1930 – 17 June 2006) was an English writer of musical theatre, best known for the show ''Salad Days'', which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with over ...

was set on the fictitious island of 'Terhou', which was based on Jethou.

Mary Gentle Mary Rosalyn Gentle (born 29 March 1956) is a UK science fiction and fantasy author. Literary career Mary Gentle's first published novel was ''Hawk in Silver'' (1977), a young-adult fantasy. She came to prominence with the '' Orthe'' duology, w ...

's 2007 novel '' Ilario: The Stone Golem'' has a villainous noblewoman exiled to a convent in Jethou.

References

Bibliography

* ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1971)

External links

Jethou homepage

Free Gutenberg Project book, ''Jethou; or, Crusoe Life in the Channel Isles'' by Ernest R. Suffling

1998 Stamps Catalogue by Anders Backman – Freenee

{{Channel Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey Private islands of the Channel Islands Ramsar sites in Guernsey