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Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll, it is immediately southwest of Herm 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 suffix, meaning 'small island' or 'small hill'.

In 1416, it became part of Henry V's estate and still remains Crown property, now leased to the States of Guernsey.

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

left|thumb|330 px|An aerial shot showing Jethou, centre right, next to its bigger neighbour, [[Herm, with Sark in the background, and the east coast of Guernsey in the foreground.]]

In 1867, Lt Colonel Montague Fielden became the island's tenant. However, he was discovered using the island as a storehouse for smuggling brandy from France.

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.

It is flanked by two islets, 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 bikes and tractors are stored.

Governance

Unlike the largely autonomous islands of Sark and Alderney within the Bailiwick, Jethou is administered entirely by the States of Guernsey. It belonged to the Electoral District of Saint Peter Port South, until the binding 2018 referendum implemented a single, island-wide constituency of which Jethou was a part.

Wildlife

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

The British 1957 musical Free as Air by Dorothy Reynolds 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.

See also

  • List of tenants of Jethou

References

Bibliography

  • BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford University Press, 1971)
  • Jethou homepage
  • Free Gutenberg Project book, Jethou; or, Crusoe Life in the Channel Isles by Ernest R. Suffling
  • Stamps from Isle of Jethou 1998 Stamps Catalogue by Anders Backman – Freenee
  • Island of Jethou at Britlink