Editing Looe Island

{{Short description|Small island nature reserve off Cornwall, England}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Redirect|St George's Island}}
[[Image:Looe island.jpg|right|thumb|Looe Island, Cornwall]]
'''Looe Island nature reserve''' ({{langx|kw|'''Enys Lann-Managh'''}}, meaning ''Island of the Monk's Enclosure''), also known as '''St George's Island''', and historically '''St Michael's Island''' is a small [[Islands of the world|island]] nature reserve<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/explore/visit-looe-island|title = Visit Looe Island &#124; Cornwall Wildlife Trust}}</ref> a mile from the mainland town of [[Looe]] off [[Cornwall]], [[England]]. The island and its foreshore belongs to the charity, Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

According to local [[legend]], [[Joseph of Arimathea]] landed here with the Christ Child.<ref>Clensy, David (2006), Island Life: A History of Looe Island - pp. 15, Lulu.com, {{ISBN|9781411689176}}</ref> Some scholars, including Glyn S. Lewis, suggest the island could be [[Ictis]], the location described by [[Diodorus Siculus]] as a centre for the [[tin]] trade in pre-Roman Britain.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Glyn|title=Did Jesus Come to Britain?: An Investigation into the Traditions That Christ Visited Cornwall and Somerset|date=January 2008|page=24|isbn=9781905570157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkxxnACffV0C&q=looe+island+ictis}}</ref>

The island is now owned and managed by the [[Cornwall Wildlife Trust]] charity where access<ref>[http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature_reserves/where_to_find_the_nature_reserves_1/looe_island_nature_reserve/How_to_get_to_Looe_Island_Nature_Reserve access to Looe island] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922231811/http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature_reserves/where_to_find_the_nature_reserves_1/looe_island_nature_reserve/How_to_get_to_Looe_Island_Nature_Reserve |date=22 September 2015 }}</ref> (including landing on the foreshore and flying of drones over the island)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/looe-island/getting-island|title=Getting to the island &#124; Cornwall Wildlife Trust}}</ref> is carefully managed for the benefit of wildlife and landing is only possible via the Cornwall Wildlife Trust authorized boat operator. The waters around the island are a marine nature reserve<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature_reserves/where_to_find_the_nature_reserves_1/looe_island_nature_reserve/looe_island_nature_reserve/|title=Looe Island Nature Reserve|publisher=Cornwall Wildlife Trust|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923003200/http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature_reserves/where_to_find_the_nature_reserves_1/looe_island_nature_reserve/looe_island_nature_reserve|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and form part of the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Area<ref>{{cite web|url=http://looemarineconservation.org/conservation/looe-vmca-area/|title=Looe Voluntary Marine Conservation Area|publisher=Looe Marine Conservation Group|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> (VMCA). First established in 1995, the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Area covers nearly 5&nbsp;km of coastline<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/Resources/Cornwall%20Wildlife%20Trust/PDF%20Documents/Looe_Voluntary_Marine_Conservation_Area_map.pdf|title=Looe VMCA map|publisher=Cornwall Wildlife Trust|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210531/http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/Resources/Cornwall%20Wildlife%20Trust/PDF%20Documents/Looe_Voluntary_Marine_Conservation_Area_map.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and aims to protect the coastal and marine wildlife around Looe.

==History==
[[File:Trelawny-coat-of-arms-2.gif|thumb|right|110px|Trelawny arms]]
People have been living on Looe Island since the Iron Age. Evidence of early habitation includes pieces of [[Roman Britain|Roman]] [[amphorae]] as well as stone boat anchors and Roman coins.<ref name="looe dig report">{{cite web |last1=Wessex Archaeology |title=Looe, Cornwall Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results |url=https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/sites/default/files/68734_Looe%20Cornwall.pdf |website=www.wessexarch.co.uk |publisher=Wessex Archaeology Limited |access-date=21 June 2020 |date=February 2009}}</ref> A number of late prehistoric or Romano-British finds have been made in the vicinity of the island, including a large bronze ingot found by divers south of Looe Island, which has led a number of people to suggest the island is possibly [[Ictis]], the tin trading island seen by [[Pytheas]] in the 4th century BC and recalled by Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC. A small hoard of eight late Roman coins was recovered in 2008. These coins were recovered from one of the shallow ditches forming a 'pear shaped enclosure' which encompassed the top of Looe Island and the later Christian chapel site. All eight coins date to the late 3rd or early 4th century AD.

In the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]], the island was used a seat of early Christian settlement. The child Jesus was believed to have visited the Island with his uncle, [[Joseph of Arimathea]], who traded with the Cornish tin traders. Looe Island was already a place of pilgrimage for early Christians before the creation of this story and a small thatched roofed chapel was built there during this time.

In the later [[medieval period]], the island came under the overall control of [[Glastonbury Abbey]], with the [[Lammana Priory|Prior of Lammana]] being directly responsible for its governance; the island's chapel was under the care of two Benedictine monks until 1289 when the property was sold to a local landowner. The priory was replaced by a domestic chapel served by a secular priest<ref>Orme, Nicholas (2007) ''Cornwall and the Cross''. Chichester: Phillimore; pp. 30–31, 35, 38</ref> until the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in 1536 when it became property of the [[The Crown|Crown]]. From the 13th to the 16th centuries it was known as St Michael's Island but after the dissolution of the monasteries, it was rededicated in 1594 as St George's Island.<ref>[[Weatherhill, Craig]], ''Place Names in Cornwall and Scilly'', Wessex Books, 2005</ref>

Through the 17th and 18th centuries the island was used by [[smuggler]]s to avoid the British Government's revenue [[Cutter (boat)|cutter]]s out of [[Plymouth]] and [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]]. The [[Old Guildhall, Looe|Guildhall Museum]] in Looe holds information and research about the smuggling families of Looe Island and information is also available in the more recent publications about the island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Looe |url=https://www.coastaltimetripping.com/looe |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=COASTAL TIMETRIPPING |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the Second World War, Looe Island was for a time renamed as 'H.M.S St. George', following the dropping of a probable parachute mine which resulted in a large crater in the summit. It was believed the island was mistaken for an Allied ship. The incident was recorded in ''[[The Cornish Times]]'' under the headline "H.M.S St. George. Nazi Airman's Direct Hit Off Looe – Another 'Success' for the Luftwaffe". The article continued "H.M.S St. George is still riding peacefully at her anchorage in Looe Bay, after being bombed recently by a Nazi air-raider in what would seem to have been an attempt to sink her. Although St. George has occupied the same berth for millennia, and is as well-known to inhabitants and visitors to Looe as the palms of their hands, no one has determined to what particular class of battleship she belongs, indeed all are familiar with the shapely hulk lying seaward of Hannafore as Looe Island (or, cartographically St. Georges Island)".<ref>{{Cite news|title=The Cornish Times 01/12/1940.}}</ref>

In 1965 the island was bought for £25,000 ({{Inflation|UK|25000|1965|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) by two sisters, Babs and Evelyn Atkins.<ref>{{cite news|last=Adkins|first=Frankie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/22/you-notice-how-full-of-life-it-is-how-looe-island-became-a-wildlife-success-story-aoe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622121509/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/22/you-notice-how-full-of-life-it-is-how-looe-island-became-a-wildlife-success-story-aoe|title=Just two people – but millions of inhabitants: the tiny Cornish island where nature is thriving|date=22 June 2023|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=22 June 2023|archivedate=22 June 2023}}</ref> They wrote two books chronicling their purchase and subsequent life on Looe; ''We Bought An Island''{{refn|(1976, {{ISBN|0-245-52940-3}})}} and its sequel ''Tales From Our Cornish Island''.{{refn|(1986, {{ISBN|0-245-54265-5}})}} Evelyn died in 1997 at the age of 87; Babs continued to live on the island until her death in 2004, at the age of 86. On her death, the island was bequeathed to [[Cornwall Wildlife Trust]]; it will be preserved as a [[nature reserve]] in perpetuity. Today the wardens for Cornwall Wildlife Trust live on the island and manage it for the benefit of wildlife.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/claire-lewis/looe-island-nature-highlights-winter-special|title=Looe Island Nature Highlights: Winter Special &#124; Cornwall Wildlife Trust}}</ref> The adjoining islet, formerly known as Little Island,<ref>{{citation|title=Cornwall LIII.NW & SW (includes: Duloe; Lansallos; Looe.)|publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]]|year=1908|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/101439008}}</ref> now renamed '''Trelawny Island'''<ref>{{cite book|title=The Looe Island Story|url=https://www.polperropress.co.uk/uploads/lookinside/Looe_Island_lookinside.pdf|isbn=9780954913724|publisher=Polperro Heritage Press|year=2005|page=3}}</ref> and connected by a small bridge, was bequeathed by Miss Atkins back to the [[Trelawney Baronets|Trelawny family]], who previously owned Looe Island from 1743 to 1921.<ref>''Looe Island Then And Now'' Clarke, Carolyn United pc Verlag {{ISBN|3710310466}} p12</ref>

==Geography==
Situated in the [[English Channel]], about one mile from [[Looe|East Looe]] in the direction of [[Polperro]], it is about {{convert|22.5|acres|ha|0}} in area and a mile (1.6&nbsp;km) in circumference. Its highest point is {{convert|47|m}} above sea level. Looe Island, like much of [[south west England]], has a mild climate with frost and snow being rare.

The island is owned and managed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. This is a non-profit-making venture, the landing fees and other income being devoted to conserving the island's natural environment and providing facilities. The island is open during the summer to day visitors arriving by the Trust's authorised boat operator. After a short welcome talk visitors are directed to the small visitor centre from where they can pick up a copy of the self-guided trail. Visitors have some two hours on the island and all trips are subject to tides and weather/sea state. 

==Media appearances==
In 2008, [[Channel 4]]'s [[archaeology]] series ''[[Time Team]]'' visited the island to carry out an investigation into its early Christian history. They excavated the sites of Christian chapels built on both the island and on the mainland opposite. During their dig they found the remains of a [[Benedictine]] [[chapel]] that was built in c.1139 by [[monk]]s from [[Glastonbury Abbey]], a [[reliquary]], graves and the remains of much earlier [[Romano-British|Anglo-Romano]] places of worship built of wood with dating evidence suggesting use by [[Christians]] before the reign of [[Constantine the Great]].<ref name="looe dig report" />

In 1994/95 [[Andrew Hugill]] composed ''Island Symphony'', an electro-acoustic piece utilising sampled sounds sourced over the net plus recorded natural sounds from the island itself.<ref>Dawe, Kevin (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=owU3-pCIvyYC&pg=PA207 ''Island musics'']. pp. 207–208. Berg Publishers {{ISBN|978-1-85973-703-3}}.</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
* [[St Michael's Mount]]
* [[Mont Saint-Michel]]
* [[List of monastic houses in Cornwall]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Looe Island Then and Now'': Carolyn Clarke 2014 United P. C Publisher {{ISBN|978-3-7103-1046-1}}
* ''[http://www.polperropress.co.uk/page/book/looe_island_story/ The Looe Island Story: an Illustrated History of St George's Island]'', Mike Dunn, 2006, Polperro Heritage Press, {{ISBN|978-0-9549137-2-4}}
* '' Island Life: A History of Looe Island'', David Clensy, 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-4116-8917-6}}
* '' We Bought an Island'': Evelyn E Atkins 1976 {{ISBN|0-340-22688-9}}
* '' Tales from our Cornish Island'': Evelyn E Atkins 0-340-22688-9

==External links==
{{Commons category|Looe Island}}
* [https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/explore/visit-looe-island]
* [http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk Cornwall Wildlife Trust]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027140019/http://geocities.com/looesmugglers/ Smuggling history]
* [http://looemarineconservation.org Looe Marine Conservation Group]

{{Coord|50.33664|N|4.45205|W|type:isle_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX256514)|display=title|format=dms}}<!-- Note: WGS84 lat/long, converted from OSGB36 grid ref -->

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Islands of Cornwall]]
[[Category:Nature reserves of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust]]
[[Category:Looe]]