Burrow Island (also known as 'Rat Island') is a

tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The island overlooks

Portsmouth harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

. At low tide a spit connects it with Priddy's Hard. It has been suggested that the name dates from the 17th century and is derived from being within the borough of Gosport. Between 1678 and 1679, a fortification named Fort James was constructed on the island under the direction of Bernard de Gomme. It took the form of a square tower 19 ft tall. The fortification was apparently allowed to decay with George Byng commenting on its poor condition in a letter written in either 1707 or 1708. It appears that a rebuilding to a new design was proposed on 1750 but this never took place. What were by then the ruins of the fort were partially demolished in 1827 and nothing now remains above ground level. Burrow Island OS map

It has been claimed that King Stephen built a fortification on the island but this is unlikely to have been the case. Burrow Island is owned by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, and public access is not permitted; despite this, at low tide some members of the public have ventured onto Burrow Island. It is a popular spot to go fishing. It is known that some have found unique coloured glass bottles that had been washed up on the island. Burrow Island was once used as a burial ground for convicts; several human skeletons were discovered on the island early in 2014. They are believed to be from the 19th century and are the remains of convicts or prisoners of war who had been buried on the island.No Boat Required – Exploring Tidal Islands. Peter Caton 2011. Troubador. Burrow Island is one of 43 (unbridged) tidal islands which can be walked to from the mainland of Great Britain.

References

Uninhabited islands of England Tidal islands of England Portsmouth Islands of Hampshire {{Hampshire-geo-stub