St Agnes, Isles of Scilly

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For other uses, see Saint Agnes (disambiguation).
St. Agnes
Cornish: Aganas
St. Agnes map.png
A map of St. Agnes with Gugh to the east.
 St. Agnes shown within Isles of Scilly
Population 82 (2011)
OS grid reference SV881430
Civil parish St Agnes
Unitary authority Isles of Scilly
Ceremonial county Cornwall
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ISLES OF SCILLY
Postcode district TR22
Dialling code 01720
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Isles of Scilly
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament St Ives
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall

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St Agnes (Cornish: Aganas ) is the southernmost populated island of the Isles of Scilly — Troy Town Farm on the island is the southernmost settlement in the United Kingdom and England.

Description

The sandbar from St. Agnes to Gugh

St Agnes joins the island of Gugh by a tombolo, a kind of sandbar, called the Gugh Bar, which is exposed only at low tide. The Gugh is inhabited, with some 3 residents. The two islands of St Agnes and Gugh together have a population of 85 residents recorded in the 2011 census (73 were recorded in the 2001 census) and a landmass of 366 acres (148 ha). Without the Gugh included, St Agnes is marginally smaller than Bryher in either population or area; however if Gugh is included with St Agnes, it is Bryher that is marginally smaller in area and population.

In earlier times many men from St Agnes earned a living as pilots, guiding transatlantic liners and other vessels through the English Channel. Now the mainstay of the economy is tourism, together with some bulb farming. Accommodation is limited, and St Agnes is the only populated island in the Isles of Scilly which has no hotel. However, it has a few B&Bs and self-catering cottages, an ice cream shop, a campsite, a small post office & general store, and a gift shop. It also has a pub (the Turk's Head) and a cafe, although these are closed in the winter.

The main population centre is in the north and middle of the island. The southern end of the island is covered by the heather moorland of Wingletang Down.

Lighthouse

The island's most notable landmark is its lighthouse, which has been converted into living accommodation and the tower no longer contains a light. In 1680 Trinity House began a survey of the coasts of England as it was known that the contemporary charts were inaccurate; the Isles of Scilly was plotted ten miles to the north. Trinity House was also given permission to erect and maintain one or more lighthouses on the islands. St Agnes was chosen as it is the most westerly of the inhabitable islands and close to the collection of rocks, tidal flows and currents, now known as the Western Rocks.[1] It was built in 1680 and was coal fired until 1790, when it was converted to oil, with copper lamps and twenty-one revolving reflectors. A plaque records the original construction by Captains Hugh Hill and Simon Bayly, builders of the 1676 Lowestoft lighthouse. There were two protests against the building of the St Agnes light. Officials from the Isle of Wight complained that they would lose revenue from harbour dues and victualling as shipping would prefer to use the Isles of Scilly, and the Governor of Scilly on the grounds that he would lose money from wrecks![1]

The lighthouse of 1680
The Turk's Head, the only pub on St. Agnes
A rock formation on the south west side of St. Agnes that looks like an elephant
Periglis Cottage, home of Hilda M. Quick

The St. Agnes lighthouse was the second to be built in the western approaches (after the Lizard lighthouse of 1619). It stands 74' above the ground, and 138' above mean high water. It was superseded in 1911 by the Peninnis Lighthouse and St Agnes lighthouse now serves as a daymark for shipping. Peninnis lighthouse is a 17 metre tall black and white steel lattice tower situated on the southern extremity of St. Mary's island. The range was reduced from 17Nm to 9Nm under the Trinity House 2010 Aids to Navigation review. The light source employed is now LED.[2][3]

Other landmarks

Other landmarks include a standing stone known as the Nag's Head (probably a natural formation) and the so-called "Troytown Maze" a pebble maze thought to be of medieval date. In 1707, many of the sailors who had drowned in the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly were reputedly buried on the St Agnes playing field.[4]

Church

See St Agnes' Church, St Agnes.

Sporting and social life

Friday evenings in the summer (end of April until start of October) see men's domestic Cornish Pilot Gig racing on Scilly, with the ladies' race on Wednesday. After the race, supporters fill the Turk's Head to discuss the race and to socialise. The pub is always open through the summer, but during the winter it is only open on Wednesdays for a quiz, and one other night.

Notable residents

Periglis Cottage was the home of St Agnes's resident ornithologist Hilda M. Quick. She was the author of Birds of the Scilly Isles published in 1964.

Population

  • 1841 – 243
  • 1861 – 200
  • 1871 – 179
  • 1878 estimated to be

nearly 150 in 25 households;
the heads of 17 of these
were surnamed Hicks (still
a common surname on the island)

  • 1881 – 148
  • 1891 – 130
  • 1901 – 134
  • 1911 – 102
  • 1921 – 101
  • 1931 – 78
  • 1951 – 78
  • 1961 – 85
  • 1971 – 63
  • 1981 – 80
  • 1991 – 90
  • 2001 – 73
  • 2011 – 85

Natural history

Over one third of the area of St Agnes is designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). In the south of the island Wingletang Down is noted for its heath, dune grassland and rocky coast and is the only site in Britain where the fern least adder's–tongue (Ophioglossum lusitanicum) grows. Other rare plants include the orchid autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) and early meadow-grass (Poa infirma). The only freshwater pools on St Agnes are Big Pool and Little Pool in the north-west of the island which are part of the Big Pool and Browarth Point SSSI. Big Pool shows evidence for inundation[5] by the 1775 Lisbon tsunami that was caused by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The vegetation has some brackish influence because of occasional influx of the sea during winter storms with rushes such as saltmarsh rush (Juncus gerardi) and sea club–rush (Scirpus maritimus). The surrounding grassland, which is also a cricket pitch, is notable for the clovers amongst its flora including western clover (Trifolium occidentale), suffocated clover (T. suffocatum) and subterranean clover (T. subterraneum). Other plants include adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum vulgatum) and small adder’s-tongue (O. azoricum).[6][7]

Vagrant birds

St Agnes is visited by birdwatchers, particularly during the ″Scilly season″ of September and October. Among the many vagrant birds which have been found here around this time are the following, which were all ″firsts″ for Britain:

In addition:

Among rare vagrants recorded at other times of year are the following:

Civil parish and ward

The isles of Scilly comprising the civil parish and ward of St Agnes shown in red.

St Agnes is one of the five civil parishes of the Isles of Scilly, which are also wards. The civil parish and ward include Gugh and several uninhabited islands and rocks, including the Western Rocks, Annet, Rosevear, Pednathise Head (the southernmost land in the UK) and the Bishop Rock.[18] St Agnes returns 2 councillors to the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the same as the other "off-island" wards. The civil parish is not functional however, and there is no council or meeting.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Changes to lighthouse as it marks 100th year. Cornishman 28 July 2011. p 15.
  3. ↑ http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/peninnis.html
  4. ↑ www.shipwrecks.uk.com/tricent-leaflet
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Hudson, D.C. (2010) Isles of Scilly Bird and Natural History Review 2009. Isles of Scilly Bird Group.
  18. ↑ Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

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