The Scilly Isles are a group of small islands off the coast of Cornwall. Many are not much more than rocks above the sea. On a bright sunny day the sea is a vivid deep blue. On dull overcast days, colours are muted pastel shades.
There are five in habited islands (St Mary’s, Bryher, Tresco, St Agnes and St Martin’s.) Sampson was inhabited until the mid C19th when the population was moved out suffering severe deprivation and living in very poor conditions.
Each of the islands has its own unique character. St Mary’s is the largest and the main service centre for the group with the council offices, hospital, secondary school and police station (still with its blue lamp above the door.) There are just three policmen covering the islands, a sergeant and two constables.
The Tourist Information Centre for theislands is here in a modern building overlooking Porthcressor beach.
St Mary's has a daily fpassenger ferry service from Penzance and visitors are unable to bring cars to the islands.
Local companies run a series of daily services between the different islands serving both locals and visitors.
The airport is on St Mary’s with a regular flights to the mainland.
Tresco has a Heliport and Penzance Helicopters run regular flights to both St Mary’s and Tresco.
The islands were originally one land mass after the Ice Age, but rising sea levels during the Bronze Age led to flooding of the lower areas and the formation of the many separate islands. At low tide, the remains of submerged field walls can still be seen in places.
The islands have been settled since the Bronze Age. Land was cleared of stones and trees felled. There are still the remains of Bronze Age hut circles, although many now hidden by bracken, or appear as seaweed covered circles in the sandy shallow sea between the islands.
The remains remains of their Bronze Age cairns dating from 2500-1000BC can be seen on higher ground. Around 80 have been recorded on the Islands.
Known as Entrance Tombs these are unique to Scilly and West Cornwall. They had a central passage lined with stone slabs and were covered by a mound of earth and surrounded by kerb stones.
During the Iron Age, the population lived in courtyard houses and an example can be seen at Halangy Down ancient village. The total population of the Islands was no more than few hundred leading a subsistence existence.
The Islands came into the possession of the English Crown after the Norman Conquest. In 1120, Bryher, Tresco and St Martins were given to Tavistock Abbey who built the Priory Church of St Nicholas on Tresco. Viking raids began in the C10th continuing until the C13th and led to the abandonment of the Priory by the C14th. Only a few walls remain.
Ennor Castle on St Mary’s was built in the C12th on a rocky knoll and a small settlement, now known as Old Town, grew up round it. This was the major port for the islands and the principle seat of civil administration until the growth of Hugh Town.
Edward III granted the islands in 1337 to the Black Prince, who was the first Duke of Cornwall, and they have been part of the Duchy of Cornwall since then.
The growth of sea trade to America and Africa from Tudor times, led to the islands being used as a base for privateers raiding heavily ladened ships. Threat of Spanish and French invasion in the mid C16th, led to the building of Harry’s Walls on St Mary’s.
King Charles’s Castle was built on Tresco as well as the Blockhouse.
In 1570 Francis Godolphin was granted the lease of the Isles of Scilly from the Dutchy of Cornwall.
After the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, plans were drawn up to improve the defences of the islands. This included the building of Star Castle on Hew Hill, the high ground on the west side of St Mary’s, and a wall and ditch in front of it. Stone was robbed from the no longer needed Ennor Castle, and little now remains of that castle. The administrative centre for the island moved to Hugh Town.
During the English Civil War, the islands were staunchly Royalist and Prince Charles stopped in the Star Castle in 1646 during his flight from the Parliamentary Army before fleeing to France. Although the Islands surrendered to Parliamentarian troops in September 1646, Royalist rebels regained control in 1648, proclaiming Prince Charles as Charles II in 1969 after the execution of Charles I. They used the islands to attack shipping in the English Channel. This angered the Dutch Government who had suffered losses of ships and they declared war on the islands, sending a fleet to attack them. The Parliamentarians responded by sending their own fleet to deter the Dutch and subdue the rebels. They secured Tresco first. King Charles’s Castle was destroyed and replaced by a Cromwell Castle, which controlled the movement of ships between Tresco and Bryher.
This cut off the supply of food and water to Star Castle was cut off and the Royalist Rebels surrendered in 1651.
The islands went into a period of decline after the Civil War and the economy was very much dependent on fishing, smuggling, wrecking and kelp burning.
The Napoleonic Wars again raised the threat of invasion and the buildings, walls and gun batteries around Star Castle and the headland were repaired and upgraded. This is when they were given the name The Garrison. A gun and signal tower was built on the highest point of the island on Telegraph Hill in 1803. As well as passing signals to the Star Castle, it could accommodate 8-10 men and mount a 32 pounder carronade (cannon) at the top.
The wars put an end to smuggling and a series of poor harvests brought a real prospect of famine to the islanders. There was a reral risk of the islands falling into destitution.
The Godolphin family had become increasingly absent landlords and gave up the lease of the islands in 1836.
The lease was taken over by Augustus Smith who made Tresco his base, building Tresco Abbey as his home on the rocky outcrop above the ruins of Tresco Priory, with views across to St Mary’s.
He also began to develop a garden around the house and the ruins of the original priory, with terraces, shelter belts of coniferous trees and imported plants from around the world. As the fame of the gardens began to spread, visitors began to arrive in large numbers by 1861, bringing much needed money to the islands. Perhaps more importantly, he began to revive and modernise the economy of the islands He built schools, insisting children attend school and be well educated.
Augustus smith was followed by his nephew, Thomas Algernon Dorrien Smith who from 1872-1918, along with his son continued the development of Tresco Gardens bringing back seeds and plants from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands.
They also continued to improve agriculture, especially the growing of daffodils.The flower industry on the Isles of Scilly was started in 1870 by St Mary's farmer William Trevellick, who found daffodils in the frost-free climate of his farm flowered a month earlier than daffodils on the mainland. Thomas Algernon Dorrien-Smith obtained over 190 different varieties of narcissus to grow on the islands. He purchased a steam launch to take the cut flowers to Penzance where the arrival of the railway e meant that cut flowers could reach London within a day.
The prosperity of the islands owes much to them.
During the C19th, shipbuilding was important with five yards on St Mary’s and prospered until iron vessels began to replace wood and steam replaced sail.
Further gun batteries were built on The Garrison at the end of the C19th and were used during the First World War. The Garrison was used again in World War Two and was an important signal station.
The lease of all the islands except Tresco was relinquished to the Duchy in 1920 by Major A A Dorrien Smith. Today Robert Dorien Smith leases only Tresco from the Duchy.
The Duchy is administered locally by a Land Steward. In 1949, the freehold of most of the houses in Hugh Town was sold to sitting tenants. In 1985, management of untenanted land was handed over to the newly formed Isle of Scilly Wildlife trust on a 99 year lease.
Early daffodils are still a major export from the islands. Later in the year potatoes are grown and these are often sold from small honesty stalls around St Mary’s.
Many people also keep chickens, again selling eggs from small stalls outside their house. These are genuinely free range eggs with deep golden yolks and taste amazing.
Scilly is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The coast is a Heritage Coast and the waters are a Marine Park.
The economy of the Islands is now very much based on tourism. As well as day trippers and people coming to holiday on the Islands, it is also visited by cruise ships. Most people come as day visitors, but it is definitely worth spending several days on the islands if possible as it is a completely different experience. Each of the inhabited islands is different with their own character. The islands are very laid back with an old fashioned atmosphere. There is no litter or graffiti and crime is almost unknown.
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