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The Écréhous (or in
Jèrriais (french: Jersiais, also known as the Jersey Language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island ...
: ''Êcrého'') are a group of
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s and rocks situated six miles (9.6 km) north-east of
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the la ...
, and eight miles (12.8 km) from France. They form part of the
Bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on the ...
of Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St. Martin.


Etymology

The name 'Ecrehous' is Norse in origin. "Esker" as in Skerry meaning a stony bank and ' Hou', the
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
found also in
Jethou Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll it is immediately south of Herm and covers a ...
,
Lihou Lihou () is a small tidal island located just off the west coast of the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, between Great Britain and France. Administratively, Lihou forms part of the Parish of St. Peter's in the Bailiwick of Guernsey ...
,
Brecqhou Brecqhou (or Brechou; ) is one of the Channel Islands, located off the west coast of Sark where they are now geographically detached from each other. Brecqhou is politically part of both Sark and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It has been establishe ...
,
Burhou Burhou (pronounced ''ber-ROO'') is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildli ...
and other islets, derives from ''holm'', meaning ''island''. The first part of the name appears to be traced back to the Norse word ''sker'', meaning ''
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ou ...
''. The Ecrehos are actually, geologically, part of the same island group as Les Dirouilles (west) and Les Pierres de Lecq ('the Paternosters') (further west).


Islets

The most significant
islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...
s in the group are: *Maîtr'Île *La Marmotchiéthe ('La Marmotière' in gallicized form) *Lé Bliantch'Île (''La Blanche Île'' in gallicized form); others include: *Les D'mies *La Grand' Naithe *L'Etchièrviéthe *Lé Fou *La Froutchie All but the three largest are submerged at
high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...
. There are no permanent residents on the islands and there is no fresh water there. Due to erosion, they are now much smaller than they may have been within historic times. Maîtr'Île, the largest of the islets, is about 300 metres (0.19 mi) long. There is a small number of fishermen's huts, some used as holiday residences, on the largest islets, and one official building, a customs house, on La Marmotchiéthe.


History

During the last ice age, sea levels were lower and the islands were high ground above a plain that connected the European Continent with southern England.


Sovereignty

The islets, along with the other Channel Islands and the
Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
, were annexed to the
Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...
in 933. After
William, Duke of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
conquered England in 1066 the islands remained united to the Duchy until the conquest of mainland
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in 1204 by
Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...
. In 1259 Henry III did homage to the French king for the Channel Islands. While
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
in the 1360
Treaty of Brétigny The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' ...
waived his claims to the crown of France and to Normandy, he reserved various territories to England.


Chapel and Priory

In 1203, shortly before the division of Normandy in 1204, John, Duke of Normandy granted the Ecrehos to the Abbey of Val-Richer that they might build a church there. The chapel measured in width and in length; the priory accommodation for the monks formed an extension to the chapel. In 1309 it was reported that a prior was living in the Ecrehos with one monk and a servant; a navigation light was lit every night.''Balleine's History of Jersey'', 1998 In 1413 alien priories were suppressed, and the monks returned to Val-Richer. Their church and priory on La Maîtr'Île fell into ruins.


Uses

In the 17th century the Ecrehos were used by smugglers. It was recorded that the main smuggled goods in the 1690s through the Ecrehos was lead and gunpowder destined for St Malô. In order to help control voting in Jersey, it was not unknown for citizens to find themselves taken and stranded on the Islands until after voting had taken place.


Long-term residents

Though they are only inhabited sporadically by holidaymakers and fishermen, in the past there have been more permanent residents on the Ecrehos due to more abundant vegetation. Two eccentrics who lived on the Ecrehos for a long time proclaimed themselves to be ''Le Roi des Écréhous'' (The King of the Ecrehous) and claimed that sovereignty over the islands belonged to them. Philippe Pinel lived on Bliantch'Île from 1848 to 1898 and exchanged gifts with
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
. In the 1960s and 1970s Alphonse Le Gastelois found refuge in the islands from unfounded public suspicion of being the '' Beast of Jersey'' (a notorious sexual attacker of children who was later arrested, thus clearing Le Gastelois of suspicion).


Resolution of disputed status

In the 19th and early 20th centuries there were several occasions on which nominal control was displayed – e.g. flags and buoys, and there were several occasions on which the British government indicated to the French government that it wished to settle the matter. In 1950 France took the
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 Nor ...
to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ) for discussions to decide to which country the Minquiers and Ecrehos belonged. The French fished in the waters, but
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the la ...
exercised various administrative rights. In the '' Minquiers and Ecrehos case'', the ICJ considered the historical evidence, and in its judgment of 17 November 1953 awarded the islands to Jersey.


On currency

La Marmotchiéthe is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 50 pound note.


Protected status

In 2005, the States of Jersey designated it as an area under the
Ramsar convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...
, signifying it was a wetland of international importance and giving it an enhanced status and recognition. A management plan for the area has yet to be published. There was a public consultation in 2010 into Jersey's management of Ramsar areas but the results were not made public. In 2022, four areas of Les Ecréhous islands were introduced under Jersey's wildlife law. This decision was made in order to protect the breeding activities and nesting of wild birds, some of them including European shags, great cormorants, common terns, the roseate terns, and oystercatchers. In practice, this means unauthorized people cannot enter during breeding periods, the speed of boats is limited, dogs may not enter, and the use of drones, lasers, and fireworks is prohibited.


Pilotage and sailing

Entrance to the islands can be difficult. However, it is possible to visit at all states of tide with the main entrance from the southwest.


Gallery

File:Écréhou Loevy.jpg, 19th century illustration File:Errehous+flag+AustenColback.JPG, Maîtr'Île Flag Mast 2008 File:Ecrehous+flag.JPG, Maîtr'Île Flag Mast 2008 File:Errehous+MaitreIleFromSouth.JPG, Maîtr'Île from the South File:Ecrehous+Caprice+Colbacks.JPG, Looking South from Maîtr'Île


Footnotes


References

*Files on the ICJ case can be found in the National Archives, mostly in the FO 371 sequence. *''Les Ecrehous, Jersey: History and Archaeology of a Channel Island Archipelago'' () by Warwick Rodwell. * ''Histoire des Minquiers et des Écréhous''.
Robert Sinsoilliez The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...
. Éditions l'Ancre de Marine.


External links


Les Écréhous: a Toponymy

International Court of Justice: The Minquiers and Ecrehos Case

The Écréhous

Video "Les Écréhou, petit bijou anglo-normand" by MancheLibre

Sentence of the International Court of Justice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecrehous Ramsar sites in Jersey Uninhabited islands of the Bailiwick of Jersey Saint Martin, Jersey Protected areas of Jersey Former populated places in the Channel Islands