Middleholm, also known as Midland Isle, is a small island lying off southwest Pembrokeshire in Wales, between the island of

Skomer Skomer () or Skomer Island is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the community of Marloes and St Brides in west Wales. It is well known for its wildlife: around half the world's population of Manx shearwaters nest on the island, the A ...

and the mainland in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

Marloes and St Brides Marloes and St. Brides (Welsh: ''Marloes a Sain Ffraid'') is a community in the West Wales county of Pembrokeshire. The main settlements are the villages of Marloes and St Brides. Both villages lie on the southern shore of St Brides Bay The ...

. It is roughly circular with a diameter of about and an area of . It is separated from the mainland by

Jack Sound Jack Sound is a treacherous body of water about wide between the island of Skomer and the Pembrokeshire mainland that contains numerous reefs and a tidal race of up to 6 knots. It is used by boats to avoid a three-mile detour around the isl ...

and from Skomer by Little Sound.

History

The name Middleholm was documented in 1325 in the reign of Edward III, when ferreters were paid for catching rabbits. The island has been in use for considerably longer, with traces of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

walling, and may have been used for summer grazing, despite the lack of natural fresh water. Since 1966, when the rabbit population was killed by

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by ''Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North A ...

, the island has been ungrazed. The name Midland Isle has been used at least as far back as 1578, when it was abbreviated in Latin as ''Midlan Insul''. This name was also used in 1833, when it was cited in

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

's ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales''. Modern Ordnance Survey maps use the latter name.

Geology

The island is formed largely from a suite of volcanic rocks of

Aeronian In the geologic timescale, the Aeronian is an age of the Llandovery Epoch of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon that began 440.8 ± 1.2 Ma and ended 438.5 ± 1.1 Ma (million years ago). The Aeronian Age succeeds ...

age (early Silurian) assigned to the Skomer Volcanic Group.

Wildlife

The island is known for its

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s, including Manx shearwaters and Atlantic puffins, and for its plants, including

red fescue ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in ...

sea beet The sea beet, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' ((L.) Arcangeli.), is a member of the family Amaranthaceae, previously of the Chenopodiaceae. Carl Linnaeus first described ''Beta vulgaris'' in 1753; in the second edition of ''Species Plantarum ...

and common tree-mallow.

Ownership

The island is owned and managed by the National Trust. It is not open to the public.

References

External links

{{Pembrokeshire Islands of Pembrokeshire