Piel Island lies in Morecambe Bay, around off the southern tip of the Furness peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, England. It is one of the Islands of Furness, three of which sit near to Piel at the mouth of Walney Channel. The island is the location of Piel Castle, built by the monks of Furness Abbey in the fourteenth century.

Historically within Lancashire, the island today is owned by the town of Barrow-in-Furness, having been given to the people by the Duke of Buccleuch in 1922. The council's administrative duties also include the selection of the "King" of Piel, who is the landlord of the island's public house, the Ship Inn. Piel is about in size. The landlord and their family and three others who live in the old Ship's pilots' cottages are the island's only permanent residents.

History

left|thumb|[[Piel Castle]]

In the Middle Ages Piel was known as Fowdray (or Fouldrey or Fowdrey) island. This name would seem to be derived from the Old Norse words ', meaning "fodder", and ' or ', meaning "island". The island was part of the Liberty of Furness, granted in 1066 to Earl Tostig, and 1127 it formed part of the Liberty that was granted by King Stephen to the Savignac monks as part of a land grant for an abbey. When the Savignacs became part of the Cistercian order later in the 12th century, the island came under the control of the Cistercians at nearby Furness Abbey. The Cistercians increased their power, and soon controlled the whole of the Furness, including Piel.

thumb|[[Sir George Beaumont, 7th Baronet|Sir George Beaumont's 1805 painting Peele [sic] Castle in a Storm]]

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537 Piel Island and its castle became the property of the king. The castle's fortifications were strengthened at the time of the Spanish Armada but from then until the Civil War nothing of note happened on the island.

The area of Furness was a Parliamentarian stronghold during the Civil War. For this reason the Parliamentarian fleet retreated to Piel Harbour when the Royalists captured Liverpool.

In 1662, following the restoration of Charles II, the lordship of Furness was given to the Duke of Albemarle

Piel Island became an important trading post during the 18th century and customs men were permanently stationed there; smuggling was still rife at the time. In the second half of the 18th century the iron ore trade began to develop on the Furness Peninsula and the harbour continued to be important to the local economy. As the volume of shipping increased "His Majesty's boatmen" were stationed on Piel as harbour pilots and customs inspectors. In formal terms, it was a creek (outstation) of the port of Lancaster, and known as Piel Foudray. The impact of industry was relatively low on the appearance of the island, however, and in the 19th century the ruins of the castle became a major attraction to the romanticist art movement. The island was painted in 1805 by Sir George Beaumont, a painting which inspired William Wordsworth's Elegiac Stanzas, based also on his own time living at Rampside with a view out to Piel.

The ownership of Piel Island eventually descended to the Duke of Buccleuch. and in 1875 had the fishermen's cottages built on the island. The 7th Duke later donated the island to the people of Barrow-in-Furness in 1920 as a World War I memorial.

Today

right|thumb|300px|Piel Island from [[Roa Island]]

Being separated from neighbouring Roa Island by the Piel Channel, the island is accessible via a ferryboat from Roa Island pier during summer and subject to the tides and weather. Piel can be reached on foot or by off-road vehicle (licenses are required to drive on the sands) from Walney Island, but this route is only passable with care at low tide; local guidance is recommended. Piel Castle is managed by English Heritage and there is free, unlimited access once on the island. The castle, located on the southeast tip of Piel Island, is an impressive ruin made up largely of stones from the beach. The three-storey keep affords good views of the island although it is no longer accessible to visitors. Campers may pitch a tent on the island. who is described as an innkeeper from the 'Pile of Fowdrey'. The earliest direct reference to an inn, or 'publick house', is in 1800. In 1813 a visitor painted a vivid picture of the life of the innkeeper at that time:

The earliest map reference, in 1833, refers to the inn as 'The Herdhouse', and the first person who can confidently be identified as a landlord of the Ship Inn is James Hool as he is listed in the 1841 census as a publican.

The landlord of the Ship Inn pub is known as 'The King of Piel', a title instituted in the 19th century and harking back to Lambert Simnel and his attempt to usurp the English throne. A tradition handed down by fishermen for centuries is the 'Knighthood of Piel'. In a room of the inn is a large oak chair and anyone who sits in it is made a 'Knight of Piel'. The ceremonial knighting is carried out by the King of Piel or a fellow knight. The present-day cost of becoming a knight is to buy a round of drinks for all those present. However, the privilege afforded to knights is that they may demand food and lodging of the innkeeper should they be shipwrecked on Piel.

The longest recorded serving landlords were Thomas and Elizabeth Ashburner, c.1894-c.1922, and the 20-year licence of Rod and Karen Scarr which ended in November 2005 is the second-longest recorded. shortly before the new 'King of Piel', Steve Chattaway, was crowned (an event that was documented in the TV series Islands of Britain). The Chattaways left in 2020, with the new landlord Aaron Sanderson moving in in May 2022.

References

  • The Ship Inn Website
  • The Cumbria Directory - Piel Island