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St Mary's
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|---|---|
 Porthcressa, showing part of Hugh Town | |
  St Mary's Location withinIsles of Scilly | |
| Area | 6.58 km2 (2.54 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,723 (2011)[1] |
| • Density | 262/km2 (680/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SV915115 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLES OF SCILLY |
| Postcode district | TR21 |
| Dialling code | 01720 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Isles of Scilly |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 49°55′19″N6°17′49″W / 49.922°N 6.297°W /49.922; -6.297 | |
St Mary's (Cornish:An Nor,lit. 'the land')[2] is the largest and most populous island of theIsles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast ofCornwall in England, United Kingdom.
St Mary's has an area of 6.58 square kilometres (2.54 sq mi)[1] — 40 percent of the total land area of the Isles of Scilly — this includes four smalltidal islands which connect with St Mary's at low tide: Toll's Island, Taylor's Island, Newford Island and the island atInnisidgen.
With a population of 1,723 (out of a total population for Scilly of 2,203)[1] St Mary's is relatively densely populated, with twice the average population density of the Isles of Scilly as a whole. The majority of St Mary's residents live in the western half of the island, with Hugh Town alone having a population of 1,097.
The main settlement,Hugh Town(Cornish: Tre Huw), was sold to the inhabitants by the Crown in 1949 (it had belonged to theDuchy of Cornwall — which still owns much of the rest of the island). Other settlements on the island areOld Town,Porthloo,Pelistry,Trenoweth,Holy Vale,Maypole,Normandy,Longstone,Rocky Hill andTelegraph.
The island became the home ofBritish Prime MinisterHarold Wilson and his final resting place after his death in 1995. His grave is at the cemetery atOld Town Church.
St Mary's is one of the fivecivil parishes of the Isles of Scilly, which are alsowards. St Mary's returns 12 councillors to the Council of the Isles of Scilly; this compares with 1 councillor for each of the four "off-island" wards. The civil parish is not functional however, and there is nocouncil ormeeting.
St Mary's is the only island of the Isles of Scilly with a significant road network and the only island with public highways, including threeA roads (measuring4+3⁄4 miles or 7.5 kilometres in total length) which are numbered inZone 3 of the British numbering scheme (theA3110, A3111 and A3112); these 'A' roads are generallycountry lanes in nature. Roads and streets across Scilly have very few signs or markings, and route numbers are not marked at all.
In 2005 there were 619 cars and vans on St Mary's; the island also hastaxis and a conductedbus tour. Vehicles in Scilly are exempt from annualMOT tests.[3][4][5]
By air, the island is served bySt Mary's Airport.Fixed-wing aircraft services are scheduled, operated byIsles of Scilly Skybus, to and fromLand's End,Newquay, and (except in winter)Exeter.[6]Helicopter services were operated byBritish International Helicopters, fromPenzance Heliport;[7] this service, which started in 1964 (then operated by BEA Helicopters),[8] ceased at the end of October 2012.
Helicopter flights resumed in 2020 with the launch of the Penzance Helicopter service.[9]
By sea, theIsles of Scilly Steamship Company provides a passenger and cargo service fromPenzance, which is currently operated by theScillonian III passenger ferry, supported by theGry Maritha cargo vessel. The other islands are linked to St. Mary's by a network of inter-islandlaunches.[10] The main harbour of St Mary's (and the Isles of Scilly) is at Hugh Town, and is calledSt Mary's Harbour. Further slipways and small quays exist around the island, at natural harbour sites, such as at Old Town, Pendrathen,Watermill Cove, andPorthloo.
There has been anRNLI lifeboat station on St Mary's since 1837. The first two lifeboats were kept in a boathouse on the town beach at Hugh Town. Following closure in 1855 the lifeboat station was re-opened in 1874 and a boathouse was built on the beach atPorth Cressa. In 1899 a new boathouse and slipway were built atCarn Thomas and the first motor boat arrived in 1919.
The lifeboatmen of St Mary's have earned 26RNLI medals for bravery, comprising one gold, nine silver and 16 bronze, the last awarded in 2004.[11]
There areAnglican churches such asSt Mary's Church, St Mary's andSt Mary's Old Church, St Mary's.
John Wesley preached here on 13 September 1743. The Wesleyan Methodist Society was established in 1788 and thefirst chapel erected in 1790. This was replaced in 1828. The presentMethodist church was built in 1899 by A.J. Trenear inHugh Town and is part of the Isles of Scilly Methodist Circuit.
Captain James Williams White (1826-1903), the championCornish wrestler,[12] was born on St Mary's and after emigrating lived inBurra, South Australia, from 1856.[13]
The tower on Newford Down, now known as Telegraph Tower, was built in 1814 to serve as an Admiralty Telegraph Station, but it had closed by 1816.[14] The building then reverted to the custody of the landowner - theDuke of Leeds. In 1831 the site was taken over by the Coastguard as a subsidiary to the main station situated on the Garrison. In 1903 a wireless mast and receiving office were built nearby, and in 1908 a telegraph house was erected on the tower's roof. The wider site was developed into a modern radio transmitting and communications site by the late-C20.[15] The tower is now a private residence.[16] It was at this tower about 1898 thatGuglielmo Marconi heard wireless signals transmitted fromPorthcurno, a distance of 30 miles. It was used byRadio Scilly for broadcasting.
Note: To strengthen Scilly's defences Major Daniel Lyman proposed the construction of three gun towers in 1803, each armed with a 32-poundercarronade on top. The presence of three towers on St Mary's, in the heart of the Garrison, on Buzza Hill and at Newford Down, has led some writers to link them to Lyman's proposal. However, his proposal was never enacted, and the three towers have different origins.[14]
Harry's Walls are the remains of an unfinished artillery castle situated on a hilltop to the north-east of Hugh Town. It was begun in 1551 as part of a major phase of fortification on the Isles of Scilly, undertaken to counter threats from the French. It was left unfinished because the site was recognised to be unsuitable.
Giant's Castle is an Iron Agecliff castle[17] on the coastal path between the airfield and Porth Hellick Bay.
Star Castle is at the centre of a fortification system around the west side of St Mary's known as the Garrison. The walls of the castle take the shape of an eight-pointed star. It comprises an outer wall around the outcrop of Hew Hill, protecting the town and the castle, with strategically placed gun batteries at regular intervals around the outer wall, allowing covering fire at all angles. A redundant windmill was converted after 1831 intoGarrison Tower as a lookout tower forHM Coastguard.
The Star Castle was built in 1593 by the Surveyor of the Royal Works and mapmaker Robert Adams (d.1595), under the direction ofFrancis Godolphin, following theSpanish Armada of 1588.[18] Fearing another Spanish invasion, in May 1593Queen Elizabeth I ordered the construction of a fort and twosconces as a lookout for any intruder ships.[19][20]
In 1740 Master Gunner Abraham Tovey transformed the Garrison building walls with gun batteries, including Colonel Boscawen's Battery,[21] in a circular shape following the coast line of The Hoe. Star Castle is now a hotel.
The 14 metre metal tower lighthouse onPeninnis Head was built in 1911 as a replacement for the 1680 lighthouse in the centre of St Agnes. The lighthouse was converted from acetylene gas to electricity in 1992 and the original range of 17 nautical miles was reduced to nine in 2011.[22][23] The headland is within the Isles of ScillyArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of theHeritage Coast. It is also aGeological Conservation Review site for itsQuaternarygeomorphology and was first designated aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1971 for both its biological and geological interests.[24]
Porthellick Cove contains a memorial to mark the spot where the body ofAdmiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell was washed ashore after the1707 Scilly naval disaster. This was one of the greatestmaritimedisasters in British history, when four ships (Association,Firebrand,Romney andEagle) with nearly 2,000 sailors were lost.
The following is a list of some other locations on St Mary's:
| City | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 1,519(plus 26 in the Garrison) |
| 1861 | 1,424 |
| 1871 | 1,368 |
| 1881 | 1,290 |
| 1891 | 1,201 |
| 1901 | 1,355 |
| 1911 | 1,376 |
| 1921 | 1,196 |
| 1931 | 1,216 |
| 1951 | 1,625 |
| 1961 | 1,736 |
| 1971 | 1,958 |
| 1981 | 2,073 |
| 1991 | 1,600 |
| 2001 | 1,666 |
| 2011 | 1,723 |
Five Islands Academy (previously Five Islands School) has a combined primary and secondary campus in St. Mary's. A boarding house, Mundesley Boarding House, serves secondary students from other islands.[26] Students at thesixth-form college level reside and board elsewhere,[27] in mainland Great Britain. Previously theLearning and Skills Council paid for costs of accommodation for sixth-formers.[28]
St. Mary's Library is located at the Porthcressa seafront.[29]
Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre has adult further education programmes.[30]
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.[...]
Media related toSt Mary's, Isles of Scilly at Wikimedia Commons
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