St Martin's
| |
|---|---|
 Great Bay on the north coast | |
  St Martin's Location withinIsles of Scilly | |
| Population | 135 (2021) |
| OS grid reference | SV 925 159 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLES OF SCILLY |
| Postcode district | TR25 |
| Dialling code | 01720 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Isles of Scilly |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 49°57′50″N6°17′20″W / 49.964°N 6.289°W /49.964; -6.289 | |
St Martin's (Cornish:Breghyek,lit. 'dappled island')[1] is the northernmost populated island of theIsles of Scilly, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has an area of 237 hectares (0.92 sq mi) and a total population (2021 census) of 135.[2] Fourregions of the island are designated asSites of Special Scientific Interest.[3]
There are three main settlements on the island -Higher Town,Middle Town andLower Town - in addition to a number of scattered farms and cottages.[4]
There are twoquays - at Higher Town (the Higher Town Quay, used athigh tide) and at Lower Town (the Hotel Quay, used atlow tide). In Higher Town there is also ageneral store andpost office,[5] abakery,[6] abistro,[7] afish and chip restaurant[8] and a commercialvineyard.[9] At Lower Town, there is also ahotel,[10] apublic house[11] and asilversmith andjeweler.[12]
In addition, St Martin's has a communityobservatory, which is situated between Middle Town and Higher Town.[13] The night sky on the island is rated as class 1 on theBortle scale, which means it has very minimal light pollution and is possibly the best place inEngland to view theMilky Way.[14]
To the north, St Martin's is joined by atidalcauseway to the uninhabitedWhite Island, which is itself another Site of Special Scientific Interest.[15]
At the northeast corner of the island is a large red-and-whitedaymark. It was erected in 1683 by Thomas Ekins, first steward of the Godophin Family to live on the islands. The 'Daymark', alongside several nearby prehistoric cairns, are all registeredscheduled monuments.[16]
Daymark is a renderedgranite circular tower 4.8 metres (16 ft) in diameter and 6.4 metres (21 ft) high, set back to conical termination making it 11 metres (36 ft) high. The blocked arched entrance door contains an incorrect date of 1637. Daymark was painted white until 1822 but by 1833, it had been painted red. However, for much of the remainder of its history, Daymark has been painted in alternating bands of red and white.[17]
Daymark is built on the highest point of St Martin's — and the second-highest point in the Isles of Scilly — and the islands' onlyOrdnance Surveytriangulation station is situated by Daymark. The relative position and height of this location means that in good weather, theCornish mainland is visible from Daymark[18] and reciprocally, Daymark is visible and identifiable fromLands End on the Cornish mainland.[19]
There are two churches on St Martin's: theAnglicanparish church of St Martin's andSt Martin's Methodist Church, both located in the Higher Town area. The Methodist chapel dates from about 1845 and is part of the Isles of Scilly Methodist Circuit.[20]
St Martin's is one of the fivecivil parishes of the Isles of Scilly, which are alsowards. The civil parish and ward include several uninhabited islands and rocks, including theEastern Isles,Great Ganilly,English Island andWhite Island.[21] St Martin's returns one councillor to the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the same as the other "off-island" wards. The civil parish is not functional, however, and there is nocouncil ormeeting.[22]
Five Islands Academy (previously Five Islands School) has its St Martin's Base, a primary campus. Secondary pupils board at theSt Mary's main campus,[23] staying there on weekdays and coming back and forth to their home islands on weekends.[24]
Students at thesixth-form college level reside and board elsewhere,[25] in mainland Great Britain. Previously theLearning and Skills Council paid for costs of accommodation for sixth-formers.[26]
| City | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 214 |
| 1861 | 185 |
| 1871 | 158 |
| 1881 | 175 |
| 1891 | 174 |
| 1901 | 175 |
| 1911 | 191 |
| 1921 | 134 |
| 1931 | 134 |
| 1951 | 131 |
| 1961 | 118 |
| 1971 | 106 |
| 1981 | 118 |
| 1991 | 110 |
| 2001 | 142 |
| 2011 | 136 |
| 2021 | 135 |
There is no post-16 provision on the Islands, students leaving the Isles of Scilly (VC) Federated School attend at colleges/schools with 6th forms on the mainland.[...]
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