Lady Isle is a small, uninhabited island, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was once home to a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary. The island features a lighthouse and a freshwater spring.

Geography

Lady Isle lies some southwest of Troon. The island is around along its length and rises to a maximum elevation of just . Half tide, Scart rocks and Seal rock are associated with Lady Isle. The island lies in the parish of Dundonald in South Ayrshire.

History

Evidence from old maps

Timothy Pont's map of 1604–1608, published in 1654 by Joan Blaeu, marks Lady Isle by that name and indicates that a structure is present on the island, presumably the chapel. In c. 1636 - 1662 Robert Gordon's manuscript map marks the isle as 'Lady Yle' and shows two islands.

John Adair in his 1686 A mape of the west of Scotland containing Clydsdail, Nithsdail, Ranfrew, Shyre of Ayre, & Galloway. shows Lady Isle as Mary Isle and indicates a chapel as being located on the island. In 1745 Moll used the name Lady Isle.

Written history

right|thumb|300px|Lady Isle with [[Ailsa Craig beyond]]

When Edward I of England came to Ayr in 1299 following the burning of the Barns of Ayr, Hermingford, an old chronicler of the period, records that:

It is thought that the name Isle of Ayr refers to Lady Isle.

The Geographical Collections relating to Scotland state:

Lady Isle is probably first mentioned in the title of William Fullarton of that Ilk, in his Charter under the Great Seal by William III, dated 9 December 1695, which included "the five pound land of Aldtoun containing the little isle, opposite the lands of Corsbie, called the Lady-isl". When the Marquess was elevated to become the Duke of Portland the island was part of the Duke's Fullarton Estate.

left|thumb|250px|

One suggestion is that the name "Lady" is actually derived from the Scottish Gaelic word Laidh, meaning a 'ship's course'. Lady Isle has probably always been important to navigators as is shown by the fact that in the 17th century, the Magistrates of Glasgow built two stone pillars on the Isle, and lining them up from the east gave a good anchorage from a north west gale.

In June, 1821, someone set fire to the "turf and pasture", and this act permanently destroyed the island's grazing, with gales blowing much of the island's soil into the sea. It is only slowly recovering. In June 1829, the Isle was let to Mr. William Fullarton of Skeldon, who restocked the Isle with rabbits. Fullarton built a house or lodge of some sort. The building was broken into several times and eventually a family of fishermen from Troon were arrested, tried and given a relatively small fine. This information is given on Armstrong's 1775 map. John Thomson's 1828 map marks two 'towers', one where the present 'beacon' stands and the other at the site of the present lighthouse. Herman Moll in 1745 shows no features at all on his map, but marks two islands.

Lighthouse

Lady Isle is home to an interesting lighthouse. Established in 1903 the lighthouse is not the standard round tower type but rather consists of a platform built on buttresses with an exterior stairwell. The light is still used as a navigational aid (Fl(4)30s19m8M) and is managed by the Northern Lighthouse Board. An X/S Band racon radar beacon, with S Band emissions restricted to landward is also on the lighthouse. A small wooden storage hut sits beside the lighthouse, rather oddly inscribed Social Security Appeals Tribunal. A large white horizontal cylinder used to hold the gas supply for the lighthouse light which was converted to electricity during the refurbishment and solarisation in around 2004. Regarding the approach to the island, mariners have to beware the drying rock all around the island up to 2 cables to the northeast (see the map).

Bird observatory and warden's post.

left|thumb|170px|Roseate tern in flight.

Lady Isle is owned by the Marquess of Ailsa and was for many years leased out as a bird sanctuary with a bird observatory and warden's post built and run by the Scottish Society for the Protection of Wild Birds (SSPWB). Common terns and Arctic terns used to nest here and roseate terns had been observed on many occasions. The observatory carries a sign saying that it was built In memory of Johnny Warren, honorary warden Lady Isle Sanctuary Troon who died 24 May 1958.

Lady Isle is said to have been Britain's first seabird reserve. The Scottish Natural Heritage has designated the island as a Wild Bird Sanctuary under the Protection of Birds Act 1954 and as an Area of Special Protection, together with Horse Isle off Ardrossan. Scart rock off the island is named from the Scots for a cormorant. Mr. Donald J. Cameron, was the architect for the SSPWB and he informed their Secretary that there were signs of some sort of ancient ecclesiastical building on the island. and it is further recorded that the ship was that of none other than Vice-Admiral Alcarede. The galleon is said to have been carrying a gold throne on board, a gift to King Phillip of Spain. Troon men made many attempts to bring the Spanish treasures to the surface, but without success.

A professional Dutch diver was supposedly hired to do the salvage job, making his headquarters on the isle, with a store ship standing by. Upon discovering the wreck and entering he found the golden throne, on which was seated, a gigantic figure who rose and came towards him. When the diver grasped the hand of the figure, instead of a hand, he found that he was grasping a cloven hoof! He escaped the scene with his life and some of his wits intact. However, no one has attempted further salvage attempts.

Flora and fauna

right|thumb|200px|Looking towards Heads of Ayr. [[Elderberry|Elder bushes in the foreground growing over the freshwater spring. Much of the island's vegetation was lost in a 19th-century fire]]

thumb|160px|right|A mature [[lobster]]

Apart from the large numbers of gulls, eiders nest on the island. Shags and oystercatchers are frequently seen.

Smith records sea mouse-ear (Cerastium diffusum), narrow-leaved mouse-ear (Cerastium triviale), sea-pearlwort (Sagina maritima), corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis), greater sea-spurrey (Spergularia media), dove's-foot cranesbill (Geranium molle), common stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), common vetch (Vicia sativa), bramble (Rubus fruticosus), common silverweed (Argentina anserina), marsh cinquefoil (Comarum palustre), and English stonecrop (Sedum anglicum) for Lady Isle in the 1890s.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust's (SWT) visit

It was proposed that the Scottish Wildlife Trust might take over the isle as a reserve, however the decline of the tern colony led to this proposal being rejected. The hypothesis that the gulls were responsible for the loss of the terns is unfounded. It is more likely, though not certain, that the reduction in breeding terns across the whole of the Clyde area is due to a combination of reduced feeding grounds and limited habitats suitable for breeding due to human development. Members visited the island on 19 May 1993 to assess its value as a reserve, taking the boat from Troon harbour which regularly visits the island to maintain the lighthouse.

VIC Lady isle

In the late 1950s a coastal cargo carrying Ex VIC 9 ship named 'Lady Isle' still plied its trade in Scottish waters. VIC stands for Victualling Inshore Craft and these ships were technically steam coasting lighters or "puffers". 98 VICs were built for the ministry of war transport between 1941 and 1945; part of the enormous Government wartime shipbuilding programme. Lady Isle was built by Thorne Dunston of Doncaster in 1942 and she was sold by the admiralty in 1949.

Troon Cruising Club

This club has an annual Lady Isle race in support of the RNLIs Troon branch.

See also

  • List of islands in Scotland
  • List of lighthouses in Scotland
  • List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses

References

  • RCAHMS Canmore archaeology site
  • General Roy's Military Survey of Scotland 1747 - 52
  • Old maps of Scotland from the National Library
  • Old Ordnance Survey Maps
  • Northern Lighthouse Board