| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Devon, England |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SS135460 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 445 ha (1,100 acres) or 4.45 km2 (1+3⁄4 sq mi)[1][2] |
| Notification | 1987 |
Lundy is an English island in theBristol Channel. It forms part of the district ofTorridge in the county ofDevon.
About 3 miles (5 kilometres) long and5⁄8 mi (1 km) wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently changing hands between the British crown and various usurpers. In the 1920s, the island's owner,Martin Harman, tried to issue his own coinage and was fined. In 1941, two GermanHeinkel He 111 bombers crash landed on the island, and their crews were captured.
In 1969, Lundy was purchased by British millionaireJack Hayward, who donated it to theNational Trust. It is now managed by theLandmark Trust, a conservation charity that derives its income from day trips and holiday lettings, most visitors arriving by boat fromBideford orIlfracombe. A local tourist curiosity is the special "Puffin" postage stamp, a category known by philatelists as "local carriage labels", a collector's item.
As a steep, rocky island, often shrouded by fog, Lundy has been the scene of many shipwrecks, and the remains of its old lighthouse installations are of both historic and scientific interest. Its present-day lighthouses, one of which is solar-powered, are fully automated. Lundy has a rich bird life, as it lies on major migration routes, and attracts many vagrant as well as indigenous species. It also boasts a variety of marine habitats, with rare seaweeds, sponges and corals. In 2010, the island became Britain's first Marine Conservation Zone.
Lundy is the largest island in theBristol Channel. It lies 10 nautical miles (19 km) off the coast of Devon, about a third of the distance across the channel fromDevon toPembrokeshire in Wales.[3] Lundy gives its name to aBritish sea area.[4] Lundy is included in the district ofTorridge in Devon. In 2007, it had a resident population of 28 people. These include a warden, a ranger, an island manager, a farmer, bar and housekeeping staff, and volunteers. Most live in and around the village at the south of the island. Visitors includeday-trippers and holiday makers staying overnight in rental properties or camping.[5]
In a 2005 opinion poll ofRadio Times readers, Lundy was named as Britain's tenth greatest natural wonder.[6] The island has been designated aSite of Special Scientific Interest[7] and it was England's first statutoryMarine Nature reserve, and the firstMarine Conservation Zone,[8] because of its unique flora and fauna.[9] It is managed by theLandmark Trust on behalf of theNational Trust.[10]
The place-nameLundy is first attested in 1189 in theRecords of the Templars in England, where it appears as[Insula de] Lundeia. It appears in theCharter Rolls asLundeia again in 1199, and asLunday in 1281. The name is Scandinavian and means 'puffin island', from theOld Norselundi meaning 'puffin' (compare the threeLundey islands inIceland); it appears in the 12th-centuryOrkneyinga saga asLundey.[11]
Lundy is known inWelsh asYnys Wair, 'Gwair's Island', in reference to an alternative name for the wizardGwydion.[12][13]
Lundy has evidence of visitation or occupation from theMesolithic period onward, withNeolithic flintwork,Bronze Ageburial mounds, four inscribed gravestones from the early medieval period,[14][15] and an early medieval monastery (possibly dedicated to St Elen orSt Helen).
Beacon Hill Cemetery was excavated byCharles Thomas in 1969.[16] The cemetery contains four inscribed stones, dated to the 5th or 6th century AD.[17] The site was originally enclosed by a curvilinear bank and ditch, which is still visible in the southwest corner, however, the other walls were moved when the Old Light was constructed in 1819.[18]Celtic Christian enclosures of this type were common in Western Britain and are known asLlans in Welsh andLanns inCornish. There are surviving examples inLuxulyan, in Cornwall;Mathry,Meidrim andClydau in the south of Wales; andStowford,Jacobstowe,Lydford andInstow, in Devon.[citation needed]
Thomas proposed the following sequence of site usage:[19]
Twenty-three cist graves were found during this excavation. Considering that the excavation only uncovered a small area of the cemetery, there may be as many as 100 graves.
FourCeltic inscribed stones have been found in Beacon Hill Cemetery:
Lundy was granted to theKnights Templar byHenry II in 1160. The Templars were a major international maritime force at this time, with interests in North Devon, and almost certainly an important port atBideford or on theRiver Taw inBarnstaple. This was probably because of the increasing threat posed by theNorse sea raiders; however, it is unclear whether they ever took possession of the island. Ownership was disputed by the Marisco family who may have already been on the island duringKing Stephen's reign. The Mariscos were fined, and the island was cut off from necessary supplies.[22] Evidence of the Templars' weak hold on the island came whenKing John, on his accession in 1199, confirmed the earlier grant.[23]
In 1235, William de Marisco was implicated in the murder of Henry Clement, a messenger ofHenry III.[24] Three years later, an attempt was made to kill Henry III by a man who later confessed to being an agent of the Marisco family. William de Marisco fled to Lundy where he lived as a virtual king. He built a stronghold in the area now known as Bulls' Paradise with walls 9 feet (3 metres) thick.[23]
In 1242, Henry III sent troops to the island. They scaled the island's cliff and captured William de Marisco and 16 of his "subjects". Henry III built the castle (sometimes referred to as the Marisco Castle) in an attempt to establish the rule of law on the island and its surrounding waters.[25] In 1275, the island is recorded as being in the Lordship ofKing Edward I[26] but by 1322 it was in the possession ofThomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and was among the large number of lands seized byEdward II following Lancaster's execution for rebelling against the King.[27] At some point in the 13th century the monks of theCistercian order atCleeve Abbey inSomerset held the rectory of the island.[28]
Over the next few centuries, the island was hard to govern. Trouble followed as both English and foreign pirates andprivateers – including other members of the Marisco family – took control of the island for short periods. Ships were forced to navigate close to Lundy because of the dangerous shingle banks in the fast flowingRiver Severn and Bristol Channel, with its tidal range of 27 feet (8.2 metres),[29][30] one of the greatest in the world.[31][32] This made the island a profitable location from which to prey on passingBristol-bound merchant ships bringing back valuable goods from overseas.[33]
In 1627, a group known as theSalé Rovers, from theRepublic of Salé (nowSalé inMorocco) occupied Lundy for five years. TheseBarbary pirates, under the command of aDutch renegade namedJan Janszoon, flew aMoorish flag over the island. Slaving raids were made embarking from Lundy by the Barbary Pirates, and captured Europeans were held on Lundy before being sent to Salé andAlgiers to besold as slaves as part of theBarbary coast slave trade.[34][35][36][37]
From 1628 to 1634, in addition to the Barbary Pirates, the island was plagued by privateers of French, Basque, English and Spanish origin targeting the lucrative shipping routes passing through the Bristol Channel. These incursions were eventually ended byJohn Penington, but in the 1660s and as late as the 1700s the island still fell prey to French privateers.[38]
In theEnglish Civil War,Thomas Bushell held Lundy for KingCharles I, rebuilding Marisco Castle and garrisoning the island at his own expense. He was a friend ofFrancis Bacon, a strong supporter of theRoyalist cause and an expert on mining and coining. It was the last Royalist territory held between thefirst andsecond civil wars. After receiving permission from Charles I, Bushell surrendered the island on 24 February 1647 to Richard Fiennes, representingGeneral Fairfax.[39] In 1656, the island was acquired byLord Saye and Sele.[40]
The late 18th and early 19th centuries were years of lawlessness on Lundy, particularly during the ownership ofThomas Benson (1708–1772), aMember of Parliament for Barnstaple in 1747 andSheriff of Devon, who notoriously used the island for housing convicts whom he was supposed to be deporting. Benson leased Lundy from its owner,John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower (1694–1754) (who was an heir of the Grenville family of Bideford and ofStowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall), at a rent of £60 per annum and contracted with the Government to transport a shipload of convicts toVirginia, but diverted the ship to Lundy to use the convicts as his personal slaves. Later Benson was involved in an insurance swindle. He purchased and insured the shipNightingale and loaded it with a valuable cargo of pewter and linen. Having cleared the port on the mainland, the ship put into Lundy, where the cargo was removed and stored in a cave built by the convicts, before setting sail again. Some days afterwards, when a homeward-bound vessel was sighted, theNightingale was set on fire and scuttled. The crew were taken off the stricken ship by the other ship, which landed them safely atClovelly.[41]
Sir Vere Hunt, 1st Baronet of Curragh, a rather eccentric Irish politician and landowner, and unsuccessful man of business, purchased the island from John Cleveland in 1802 for £5,270. Hunt planted in the island a small, self-contained Irish colony with its own constitution and divorce laws, coinage, and stamps. The tenants came from Hunt'sIrish estate and they experienced agricultural difficulties while on the island. This led Hunt to seek someone who would take the island off his hands, failing in his attempt to sell the island to the British government as a base for troops.
After the 1st Baronet's death his son,Sir Aubrey (Hunt) de Vere, 2nd Baronet, also had great difficulty in securing any profit from the property. In the 1820s, John Benison agreed to purchase the island for £4,500 but then refused to complete the sale, as he felt that de Vere could not make out a good title in respect of the sale terms, namely that the island was free from tithes and taxes.[42]
William Hudson Heaven purchased Lundy in 1834, as a summer retreat and forhunting, at a cost of 9,400guineas (£9,870). He claimed it to be a "free island", and successfully resisted the jurisdiction of the mainland magistrates. Lundy was in consequence sometimes referred to as "the kingdom of Heaven". It belonged in law to the county of Devon, and had long been part of thehundred ofBraunton.[40] Many of the buildings on the island, includingSt. Helen's Church, designed by the architectJohn Norton, and Millcombe House (originally known simply as "the Villa"), date from the Heaven period. TheGeorgian-style villa was built in 1836.[43] However, the expense of building the road from the beach (no financial assistance being provided byTrinity House, despite their frequent use of the road following the construction of the lighthouses), maintaining the villa, and the general cost of running the island had a ruinous effect on the family's finances, which had been diminished by reduced profits from their sugar plantations, rum production, and livestock rearing inJamaica.[44]
In 1957, a message in a bottle from one of the seamen ofHMS Caledonia was washed ashore betweenBabbacombe and Peppercombe in Devon. The letter, dated 15 August 1843, read: "Dear Brother, Please e God i be with y against Michaelmas. Prepare y search Lundy for y Jenny ivories. Adiue William, Odessa". The bottle and letter are on display at the Portledge Hotel at Fairy Cross, in Devon, England.Jenny was a three-mastedfull-rigged ship reputed to be carrying ivory and gold dust that was wrecked on Lundy on 20 January 1797 at a place thereafter called Jenny's Cove. Some ivory was apparently recovered some years later but the leather bags supposed to contain gold dust were never found.[45][46]
William Heaven was succeeded by his son the Reverend Hudson Grosset Heaven who, thanks to a legacy from Sarah Langworthy (née Heaven), was able to fulfill his life's ambition of building a stone church on the island. St Helen's was completed in 1896, and stands today as a lasting memorial to the Heaven period. It has been designated byEnglish Heritage a Grade IIlisted building.[47] He is said to have been able to afford either a church or a new harbour. His choice of the church was not however in the best financial interests of the island. The unavailability of the money for re-establishing the family's financial soundness, coupled with disastrous investment and speculation in the early 20th century, caused severe financial hardship.[48]
Hudson Heaven died in 1916, and was succeeded by his nephew, Walter Charles Hudson Heaven.[49] With the outbreak of theFirst World War, matters deteriorated seriously, and in 1918 the family sold Lundy to Augustus Langham Christie. In 1924, the Christie family sold the island along with the mail contract and theMVLerina to the businessmanMartin Coles Harman. Harman issued two coins of Half Puffin and One Puffin denominations in 1929, nominally equivalent to the British halfpenny and penny, resulting in his prosecution under theUnited Kingdom'sCoinage Act of 1870. His case was heard by Devonmagistrates in April 1930, and he was fined £5 and ordered to pay £15 15 shillings (£15.75 indecimal currency)costs.[50] He appealed to theKing's Bench Division of theHigh Court of Justice in 1931, but the appeal was dismissed.[51] The coins were withdrawn and became collector's items. In 1965, a "fantasy" restrike four-coin set, a few in gold, was issued to commemorate 40 years since Harman purchased the island.[52] Harman's son,John Pennington Harman was awarded a posthumousVictoria Cross during theBattle of Kohima,India in 1944.[53] There is a memorial to him at the VC Quarry on Lundy.[54] Martin Coles Harman died in 1954.[55]
Residents did not pay taxes to the United Kingdom and had to pass through customs when they travelled to and from Lundy Island.[56] Although the island was ruled as a virtualfiefdom, its owner never claimed to be independent of the United Kingdom, in contrast to later territorial "micronations".
Following the death of Harman's son Albion in 1968,[57] Lundy was put up for sale in 1969.Jack Hayward, a British millionaire, purchased the island for £150,000 (£3,118,000 today) and gave it to the National Trust,[52] who leased it to the Landmark Trust. The Trust has managed the island since then, deriving its income from arranging day trips, letting out holiday cottages and from donations. In May 2015 a sculpture byAntony Gormley was erected on Lundy. It is one of five life-sized sculptures,Land, placed near the centre and at four compass points of the UK in a commission by the Landmark Trust, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The others are atLowsonford (Warwickshire),Saddell Bay (Scotland),the Martello Tower (Aldeburgh,Suffolk), andClavell Tower (Kimmeridge Bay,Dorset).[58][59]
The island is visited by over 20,000 day trippers a year, but during September 2007 had to be closed for several weeks owing to an outbreak ofnorovirus.[60]
An inaugural Lundy Island half-marathon took place on 8 July 2018 with 267 competitors.[61]
Near the end of a voyage fromAfrica to Bristol, the Britishmerchant shipJenny was wrecked on the coast of Lundy on 20 January 1797.[62] Only thefirst mate survived.[63] The site of the tragedy (51°10.87′N4°40.48′W / 51.18117°N 4.67467°W /51.18117; -4.67467) has since been known as Jenny's Cove.[64]
_Aground_Lundy_Island_1906.jpg)
Steaming in heavyfog, theRoyal NavybattleshipHMS Montagu ran hard aground near Shutter Rock on Lundy's southwest corner at about 2:00 a.m. on 30 May 1906.[65] Thinking they were aground atHartland Point on the English mainland, a landing party went ashore for help, only finding out where they were after encountering thelighthouse keeper at the island's north light.[66]
_Heavy_Fittings_Removed_1906.jpg)
Strenuous efforts by the Royal Navy to salvage the badly damaged battleship during the summer of 1906 failed, and in 1907 it was decided to give up and sell her for scrap.[67]Montagu was scrapped at the scene over the next fifteen years. Diving clubs still visit the site, where armour plating remains among the rocks and kelp.[68]
During theSecond World War two GermanHeinkel He 111 bombers crash landed on the island in 1941. The first was on 3 March, when all the crew survived and were taken prisoner.[69]
The second was on 1 April when the pilot was killed and the other crew members were taken prisoner.[70] This plane had bombed a British ship and one engine was damaged byanti aircraft fire, forcing it to crash land. Most of the metal was salvaged, although a few remains can be found at the crash site to date. Reportedly, to avoid reprisals, the crew concocted the story that they were on a reconnaissance mission.[71]
The island of Lundy is 3 miles (5 km) long from north to south by a little over5⁄8 mile (1 kilometre) wide, with an area of 1,100 acres (450 hectares).[1][2] The highest point on Lundy is Beacon Hill, 469 feet (143 metres) above sea level.[72] A few yards off the northeastern coast is Seal's Rock which is so called after theseals which rest on and inhabit theislet.[73][74] It is less than 55 yards (50 metres) wide.[74] Near the jetty is a smallpocket beach. One of theMeteorological Office's 31 sea areas announced on the BBC Radio 4shipping forecast is named Lundy.[75][76]
The island is primarily composed ofgranite of 59.8 ± 0.4 – 58.4 ± 0.4 million years[77] (from thePalaeoceneepoch), withslate at the southern end; the plateau soil is mainlyloam, with somepeat.[7][78] Among theigneousdykes cutting the granite are a small number composed of a uniqueorthophyre. This was given the name Lundyite in 1914, although the term – never precisely defined – has since fallen into disuse.[77][79][full citation needed] It is possible, based on emplacement of magmas of thebasalt, trachyte andrhyolite types at a high levels in Earth's crust, that avolcano system existed above Lundy.[80]
Lundy lies on the line where the NorthAtlantic Ocean and the Bristol Channel meet, so it has quite a mild climate. The island has cool, wet winters and mild, wet summers. It is often windy and fog is frequently experienced.[81] The record high temperature is 29.5 °C (85.1 °F) on 2 August 1990,[82] and the record low temperature is −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) recorded just six months later on 8 February 1991.[82] Lundy is in the USDA 9a plant hardiness zone.[83]
| Climate data for Lundy (1973–1994) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) | 14.6 (58.3) | 15.7 (60.3) | 18.4 (65.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 27.0 (80.6) | 29.5 (85.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 18.0 (64.4) | 15.0 (59.0) | 29.5 (85.1) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 10.2 (50.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.3 (57.7) | 17.4 (63.3) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.5 (70.7) | 19.1 (66.4) | 16.6 (61.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 23.0 (73.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.3 (59.5) | 17.3 (63.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 15.9 (60.6) | 13.5 (56.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.2 (54.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.2 (45.0) | 6.3 (43.3) | 7.4 (45.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 11.0 (51.8) | 13.0 (55.4) | 15.7 (60.3) | 16.0 (60.8) | 14.6 (58.3) | 12.4 (54.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.8 (51.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 5.2 (41.4) | 6.3 (43.3) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.4 (56.1) | 11.3 (52.3) | 8.9 (48.0) | 7.0 (44.6) | 9.7 (49.4) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 1.1 (34.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | 3.5 (38.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 9.6 (49.3) | 12.0 (53.6) | 12.3 (54.1) | 10.6 (51.1) | 8.3 (46.9) | 5.2 (41.4) | 3.2 (37.8) | −0.4 (31.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −5.0 (23.0) | −5.5 (22.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | −0.9 (30.4) | 3.0 (37.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 10.4 (50.7) | 3.2 (37.8) | 8.4 (47.1) | 5.1 (41.2) | 1.0 (33.8) | 0.6 (33.1) | −5.5 (22.1) |
| Average rainy days | 19.2 | 14.5 | 17.4 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.7 | 13.2 | 13.1 | 16.5 | 18.5 | 18.8 | 19.5 | 189.4 |
| Average snowy days | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 84.4 | 85.6 | 86.1 | 85.6 | 83.4 | 84.9 | 84.9 | 80.2 | 82.5 | 81.7 | 82.0 | 80.3 | 83.5 |
| Source 1: En.tutiempo[84] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Starlings Roost Weather[85] | |||||||||||||
The vegetation on the plateau is mainly dry heath, with an area of wavedCalluna heath; the northern end of the island is largely bare rock.[86] This area is also rich inlichens, such asTeloschistes flavicans and several species ofCladonia andParmelia.[87]
Other areas are either a dry heath/acidic grassland mosaic, characterised by heaths andwestern gorse (Ulex gallii), or semi-improved acidic grassland in whichYorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus) is abundant. Tussocky (Thrift) (Holcus/Armeria) communities occur mainly on the western side, and some patches ofbracken (Pteridium aquilinum) on the eastern side.[7]
There is oneendemic plant species, theLundy cabbage(Coincya wrightii), a species of primitivebrassica.[88]
By the 1980s, the eastern side of the island had become overgrown byrhododendrons (Rhododendron ponticum) which had spread from a few specimens planted in the garden of Millcombe House inVictorian times, but in recent years significant efforts have been made to eradicate this non-native plant.[89]
Two invertebrate taxa are endemic to Lundy, with both feeding on the endemic Lundy cabbage (Coincya wrightii). These are the Lundy cabbage flea beetle (Psylliodes luridipennis), a species ofleaf beetle (family Chrysomelidae) and the Lundy cabbage weevil (Ceutorhynchus contractus [fr] var.pallipes), a variety oftrue weevil (family Curculionidae).[90][91] In addition, the Lundy cabbage is the main host of a flightlessform ofPsylliodes napi (another species of flea beetle) and a wide variety of other invertebrate species which are not endemic to the island.[91] Another resident invertebrate of note isAtypus affinis, the only British species ofpurseweb spider.[90][92]
The population ofpuffins (Fratercula arctica) on the island declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as a consequence of depredations by brown andblack rats (Rattus rattus) and possibly also as a result of commercial fishing forsand eels, the puffins' principal prey. Since the elimination of rats in 2006, seabird numbers have increased. By 2023 the number of puffins had risen to 1,355 and the number ofManx shearwater to 25,000, representing 95% of England's breeding population of this seabird. The island has since 2014 become colonised byEuropean storm petrel.[93]
As an isolated island on major migration routes, Lundy has a rich bird life and is a popular site forbirdwatching. Large numbers ofblack-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) nest on the cliffs, as dorazorbill (Alca torda),common guillemot (Uria aalge),European herring gull (Larus argentatus),lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus),northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis),European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis),Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus),Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis),meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis),common blackbird (Turdus merula),European robin (Erithacus rubecula), andlinnet (Carduelis cannabina). There are also smaller populations ofperegrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) andraven (Corvus corax).[94][95]
Lundy has attracted manyvagrant birds, in particular species fromNorth America. As of 2007, the island's bird list totals 317 species.[96] This has included the following species, each of which represents the sole British record:Ancient murrelet,eastern phoebe, andeastern towhee. Records ofbimaculated lark,American robin, andcommon yellowthroat were also firsts for Britain (American robin has also occurred two further times on Lundy).[96]Veerys in 1987 and 1997 were Britain's second and fourth records, aRüppell's warbler in 1979 was Britain's second, aneastern Bonelli's warbler in 2004 was Britain's fourth, and ablack-faced bunting in 2001 Britain's third.[96]
OtherBritish Birds rarities that have been sighted (single records unless otherwise indicated) are:little bittern;gyrfalcon (3 records);little andBaillon's crakes;collared pratincole;semipalmated (5 records),least (2 records),white-rumped, andBaird's (2 records) sandpipers;Wilson's phalarope;laughing gull;bridled tern;Pallas's sandgrouse;great spotted,black-billed, andyellow-billed (3 records) cuckoos;European roller;olive-backed pipit;citrine wagtail;Alpine accentor;thrush nightingale;red-flanked bluetail;western black-eared (2 records) anddesert wheatears;White's,Swainson's (3 records), andgrey-cheeked (2 records) thrushes;Sardinian (2 records),Arctic (3 records),Radde's, andwestern Bonelli's warblers;Isabelline andlesser grey shrikes;red-eyed vireo (7 records);two-barred crossbill;yellow-rumped andblackpoll warblers;yellow-breasted (2 records) andblack-headed buntings (3 records);rose-breasted grosbeak (2 records);bobolink; andBaltimore oriole (2 records).[96]
Lundy is home to an unusual range of introduced mammals, including a distinct breed of wild pony, theLundy pony, as well asSoay sheep (Ovis aries),sika deer (Cervus nippon), feralgoats (Capra aegagrus hircus), andEuropean rabbit, some of which aremelanistic.[97]
Other mammals which have made the island their home include thegrey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and theEurasian pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus). Until their elimination in 2006, in order to protect the nesting seabirds, Lundy was one of the few places in the UK where the black rat (Rattus rattus) could be found regularly.[98]
In 1971, a proposal was made by the Lundy Field Society to establish a marine reserve, and the survey was led by Dr Keith Hiscock, supported by a team of students fromBangor University. Provision for the establishment of statutory Marine Nature Reserves was included in theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and on 21 November 1986 theSecretary of State for the Environment announced the designation of a statutory reserve at Lundy.[99]
There is an outstanding variety of marine habitats and wildlife, and a large number of rare and unusual species in the waters around Lundy, including some species ofseaweed,branching sponges,sea fans, andcup corals.[99]
In 2003, the first statutory No Take Zone (NTZ) for marine nature conservation in the UK was set up in the waters to the east of Lundy island.[100] In 2008, this was declared as having been successful in several ways including the increasing size and number oflobsters within the reserve, and potential benefits for other marine wildlife.[101] However, the no take zone has received a mixed reaction from local fishermen.[102]
On 12 January 2010 the island became Britain's firstMarine Conservation Zone designated under theMarine and Coastal Access Act 2009, designed to help to preserve important habitats and species.[9][103][104]
Three species ofcetacean are regularly seen from the island; them being thebottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatrus),common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), andharbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Other cetacean species that are sighted from Lundy, albeit more rarely, are theminke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata),Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), andlong-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas).Basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus),ocean sunfish (Mola mola), andleatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are also seen around Lundy, especially off the more sheltered eastern coast and only during the warmer months. Furthermore, there is a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) colony consisting of roughly 60 animals that live around the island.[105][106]
There are two ways to get to Lundy, depending on the time of year. In the summer months (April to October) visitors are carried on the Landmark Trust's own vessel,MSOldenburg, which sails from both Bideford andIlfracombe. Sailings are usually three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with additional sailings on Wednesdays during July and August. The voyage takes on average two hours, depending on ports, tides and weather. TheOldenburg was first registered inBremen, Germany, in 1958 and has been sailing to Lundy since being bought by the Lundy Company Ltd in 1985.[107] In the winter months (November to March) the island is served by a scheduledhelicopter service from Hartland Point. The helicopter operates on Mondays and Fridays.[108] A grass runway of 435 by 30 yd (398 by 27 m) is available, allowing access to smallSTOL aircraft.[109]
In 2007, Derek Green, Lundy's general manager, launched an appeal to raise £250,000 to save the 1-mile-long (1.5-kilometre) Beach Road, which had been damaged by heavy rain and high seas. The road was built in the first half of the 19th century to provide people and goods with safe access to the top of the island, 120 m (394 ft) above the only jetty.[110] The fund-raising was completed on 10 March 2009.[111]
The island has a pair of active lights built in 1897, and an older lighthouse no longer in service.[112][113]
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| Adopted | 15 May 2010 |
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| Design | A white L on the hoist on a blue background |
A number of flags have been used to represent Lundy. Since 2010, theLandmark Trust management has flown a 1954 flag to represent Lundy, being a white capital L on the hoist of a blue field.
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The first flag of Lundy was introduced in 1932 byMartin Coles Harman, as part of his assertion that the island was "a self-governing dominion of the British Empire".[114][115] The flag was a simple red capital L on a white field with a blue border.[114]
The single flag would eventually rot, and a new one would be made by Harman at least before 1945.[114] The new flag displayed a puffin on a white background with an outer blue and inner red border, and was named the 'Puffin Flag'.[114]
That flag, too, would rot, and Harman would fly theflag of Iceland from the end of World War Two.[114] Tony Langham, who wrote a number of books on the topic of Lundy,[116] wrote in 1989 that he believed Harman's son,John Pennington Harman, who died in the war in 1944,[53] may have been gifted the flag as a "keen flag flyer".[114]
In 1954, a new flag design was produced which displayed a white capital L on the hoist of a blue field.[114]
In 1969, after the death of Albion Harman, the island ended up in the management of theLandmark Trust, which opted to instead fly theflag of England.[114] However, in 2010, the trust restored the 1954 flag.[117]
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| Adopted | June 2000 |
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| Design | A puffin on a white circle on a red field |
TheMSOldbenburg has flown an ensign displaying a puffin on a white circle on a red background since June 2000.[118]
There is a small power station comprising threeCummins B and C seriesdiesel engines, offering an approximately 150 kVA 3-phase supply to most of the island buildings. Waste heat from the engine jackets isused for a district heating pipe. There are also plans to collect the waste heat from the engine exhaust heat gases to feed into the district heat network to improve the efficiency further.[119] The power is normally switched off between 00:00 and 06:30.[120]
The island is anunparished area of Torridge district in the county of Devon.[121] It forms part of theward of Clovelly Bay.[122][123] It is part of the constituency electing the Member of Parliament forTorridge and Tavistock and was from 1999 to 2020 part of theSouth West England constituency for the European Parliament.[123]
In 2013, the island became a separateChurch of Englandecclesiastical parish.[124]
Owing to a decline in population and lack of interest in the mail contract, theGPO ended its presence on Lundy at the end of 1927.[125] For the next two years Harman handled the mail to and from the island without charge.
On 1 November 1929, he decided to offset the expense by issuing two postage stamps (1⁄2 puffin in pink and 1 puffin in blue). One puffin is equivalent to one English penny. The printing of Puffin stamps continues to this day and they are available at face value from the Lundy Post Office. One used to have to stick Lundy stamps on the back of the envelope; but from 1962 Royal Mail allowed their use on the front of the envelope, but placed on the left side, with the right side reserved for the Royal Mail postage stamp or stamps. Lundy stamps are cancelled by a circular Lundy hand stamp. In 1974, the face value of the Lundy Island stamps was increased to include Royal Mail charges in addition to the charge for transporting mail to the mainland and so from that year it has not been necessary to affix a separate Royal Mail postage stamp.[126]
Lundy stamps are a type of postage stamp known to philatelists as "local carriage labels" or "local stamps". Issues of increasing value were made over the years, including air mail, featuring a variety of subjects. The market value of the early issues has risen substantially over the years. For the many thousands of annual visitors Lundy stamps have become part of the collection of the many British Local Posts collectors. The first catalogues of these stamps included Gerald Rosen's 1970Catalogue of British Local Stamps. Later specialist catalogues includeStamps of Lundy Island by Stanley Newman, first published in 1984,Phillips Modern British Locals CD Catalogue, published since 2003, andLabbe's Specialised Guide to Lundy Island Stamps, published since 2005 and now in its 11th Edition. Labbe's Guide is considered the gold standard of Lundy catalogues owing to its extensive approach to varieties, errors, specialised items, and "fantasy" issues.[127]
There is a comprehensive collection of these stamps in theChinchen Collection, donated by Barry Chinchen[128] to theBritish Library Philatelic Collections in 1977 and now held by theBritish Library. This is also the home of the Landmark Trust Lundy Island Philatelic Archive which includes artwork, texts and essays as well as postmarking devices and issued stamps.[129]
The pirates ceased to be a problem after the French conquered their raiding base, Algiers, in 1830 — and the secret of their crucial advantage was lost. ... Barbary pirates raided villages along the Devon and Cornwall coast, setting up a base on Lundy Island .... Those taken were sold in Algiers slave markets or worked to death as galley slaves.
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51°10′48″N04°40′12″W / 51.18000°N 4.67000°W /51.18000; -4.67000
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