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

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. It is privately leased from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll, it is immediately southwest of

Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, ...

and covers approximately .

History

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

'' 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 (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

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

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

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

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 ...

from France. From 1920 to 1934 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 nationalist. He was one of t ...

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). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

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 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 of IT company Computacenter. 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 site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

. It is flanked by two

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s, Crevichon 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 quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

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 (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

s are stored.

Governance

Unlike the largely autonomous islands of

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

and

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

within the Bailiwick, Jethou is administered entirely by the States of Guernsey, and elects members to the States of Deliberation as part of the St. Peter Port South electoral district.

Wildlife

At the back (east) of Jethou, Atlantic puffin, puffins can be seen swimming off the rocks.

Jethou in popular culture

The British 1957 musical '' Free as Air'' 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''. Filmograph ...

and Julian Slade was set on the minor and fictitious Channel Island of 'Terhou', which was based on Jethou. Mary Gentle'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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press 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