Middleholm, also known as Midland Isle, is a small island lying off southwest

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

in Wales, between the island of

Skomer Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the A ...

and the mainland in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Marloes and St Brides. It is roughly circular with a diameter of about and an area of . It is separated from the mainland by

Jack Sound Jack Sound is a treacherous body of water between the island of Skomer and the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It is popular with divers. Description The wide Sound (geography), sound is used by boats to avoid a three-mile detour around t ...

and from Skomer by Little Sound.

History

The name Middleholm was documented in 1325 in the reign of Edward III, when ferreters were paid for catching rabbits. The island has been in use for considerably longer, with traces of

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

walling, and may have been used for summer grazing, despite the lack of natural fresh water. Since 1966, when the rabbit population was killed by

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by '' Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North ...

, the island has been ungrazed. The name Midland Isle has been used at least as far back as 1578, when it was abbreviated in Latin as ''Midlan Insul''. This name was also used in 1833, when it was cited in

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

's ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales''. Modern Ordnance Survey maps use the latter name.

Geology

The island is formed largely from a suite of volcanic rocks of

Aeronian In the geologic timescale, the Aeronian is an geologic age, age of the Llandovery Epoch of the Silurian geologic period, Period of the Paleozoic geologic era, Era of the Phanerozoic geologic eon, Eon that began 440.8 ± 1.2 annum, Ma and ended 43 ...

age (early

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

) assigned to the Skomer Volcanic Group.

Wildlife

The island is known for its

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, including

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

s and

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s, and for its plants, including

red fescue ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to w ...

sea beet The sea beet, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' (L.) Arcangeli., is an Old World perennial plant with edible leaves, leading to the common name wild spinach. Description Sea beet is an erect and sprawling perennial plant up to high with da ...

and common tree-mallow.

Ownership

The island is owned and managed by the National Trust. It is not open to the public.

References

External links

{{Pembrokeshire Islands of Pembrokeshire