St Martin's ( kw, Brechiek, meaning "dappled island") is the northernmost populated island of the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...

, England. It has an area of .

Description

There are three main settlements on the island - Higher Town, Middle Town and

Lower Town Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, ...

- in addition to a number of scattered farms and cottages, with a total population (2011 census) of 136. There are two

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

s - at Higher Town (the Higher Town Quay, used 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 c ...

) and at Lower Town (the Hotel Quay, used at

low 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 c ...

). In Higher Town there is a post office. There is a

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

on the island. To the north, St Martin's is joined by a tidal

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...

White Island White Island may refer to: Places Oceania *Whakaari / White Island, volcanic island in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand ** 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption * White Island (Otago), Dunedin, New Zealand North America * White Island, Paget, Bermu ...

Daymark

At the northeast corner of the island is a large red-and-white

daymark A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight. The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that is attached to ...

. It was erected in 1683 by Thomas Ekins, first steward of the Godophin Family to live on the islands. It is a rendered

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

circular tower in diameter and high, set back to conical termination making it high. The blocked arched entrance door contains an incorrect date of 1637. It was painted white until 1822 but by 1833 had been painted red, and is now painted in bands of red and white. Despite its modernity, the daymark, alongside some prehistoric cairns, is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The daymark is built on the highest point of St Martin's — and the second-highest point in the Isles of Scilly — and the islands' only

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

triangulation station A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

is situated by the daymark; the position and relative height mean that the Cornish mainland is visible (when the weather allows) and the daymark is identifiable from the mainland too.

Religion

There are two churches on St Martin's: the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

parish church of St Martin's and St 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.

Civil parish and ward

St Martin's Isles of Scilly UK parish locator map

St Martin's is one of the five

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

of the Isles of Scilly, which are also wards. The civil parish and ward include several uninhabited islands and rocks, including the

Eastern Isles The Eastern Isles ( kw, Enesow Goonhyli, ''islands of the salt water downs'') are a group of twelve small uninhabited islands within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, part of the Scilly Heritage Coast and a Site of Special ...

Great Ganilly Great Ganilly (, kw, Goonhyli Veur "great saltwater downs") is one of the Eastern Isles of the Isles of Scilly. It has a maximum total area of 0.13 square kilometres and a highest point of 34 metres above sea level, located in the middle of th ...

, English Island and

. 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 no

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defini ...

Education

Five Islands Academy Five Islands Academy, formerly Five Islands School, is the first federated school in the United Kingdom, providing primary and secondary education for children from 3 to 16 at five sites in the Isles of Scilly. As of May 2022, the headteacher i ...

(previously Five Islands School) has its St Martin's Base, a primary campus. Secondary pupils board at the St Mary's main campus, staying there on weekdays and coming back and forth to their home islands on weekends. Students at the

sixth-form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

level reside and board elsewhere, in mainland Great Britain. Previously the

Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...

paid for costs of accommodation for sixth-formers.

Population

SourceUK Household Census Statistics, Blue Books, HMSO

References

External links

Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Martin's, Isles of Scilly Inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly Civil parishes in Cornwall