St Michael's Isle ( or ), more commonly referred to as Fort Island, is an island in
Malew
Malew ( ; ) is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man.
It is located in the south of the Island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of Rushen.
Administratively, part of the historic parish of Malew is ...
parish in the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, noted for its attractive
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
. It covers an area of ,
is about long from west to east, and is connected to the
Langness Peninsula, near
Derbyhaven, by a narrow
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 T ...
. The island itself is made of rocky slate and the soil is very acidic.
Nevertheless, it has important communities of maritime plants.
History
There is evidence for human activity on the island from the Mesolithic period onwards
and there are two ancient buildings on the island. Both are in a state of ruin and closed to the public, though there are a number of walks which allow visitors to explore the surroundings.
The island commands the entrance to what was the vital strategic port of Derbyhaven. This was something which necessitated the construction of a fort in order to safeguard the entrance to the bay and which gave rise to the name of Fort Island. Work was initially carried out by
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby on the order of
King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
with subsequent upgrading taking place in 1645 on the instructions of the
7th Earl.
The original name of St Michael's Isle is recorded as early as 1250 when John McDougal, Lord of the Isles, whom the
King of Norway
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...
had appointed
regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
of Man while succession to the throne was being decided, landed at Ronaldsway with his son-in-law, the future King Magnus. The reception to the landing was hostile and resulted in McDougal leading his men onto St Michael's Isle where he marshalled his men into troops as they prepared to engage in battle. The Manx in turn also drew up for battle facing their adversaries, whom they were unable to reach because the high tide had cut St Michael's Isle off from them and so the prospect of battle dissipated.
In 1275 after
Alexander III,
King of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...
, had obtained possession of the Isle of Man, rebellion broke out on behalf of Godred, son of King Magnus, whom Alexander had defeated in battle and who had subsequently ceded the Isle of Man.
John de Vesci, a Galloway nobleman, and other officers of the Scottish King landed on St Michael's Isle and again peace was offered and refused. The following morning, prior to sunrise, battle was joined and the Manx were defeated.
Kirk Michael (not to be confused with the Manx village of the same name) is mentioned in a description of the boundaries of
Rushen Abbey, which appears to have been compiled in or around the year 1376.
[Isle of Man Times, Saturday, June 24, 1939; Page: 9] "
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...
" is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church", and in this context, is a reference to Michael's Church, now known as St Michael's Chapel in modern English. St Michael's Chapel, a 12th-century
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
, is on the south side of the island. This
Celt
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
ic-
Norse chapel was built on the site of an older Celtic .
The island is the site of two great battles for the control of the Isle of Man in 1250 and 1275, when England, Scotland and the Manx were fighting for control of the island. The Manx won the first battle, but as described above, 25 years later they lost control to Scotland.
Derby Fort
Derby Fort, a 17th-century
fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
, is at the eastern end of the island. It was built by James Stanley, the
7th Earl of Derby and
Lord of Mann
The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann.
Relationship with the Crown
Since 1399, the King of Mann, kings and lords of Mann were ...
in 1645, during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, to protect the then busy port of
Derbyhaven.
The island is a
bird sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...
.
References
External links
www.isleofman.com- Information about Fort Island
St Michael's Isle* Jon Wornham's galleries include photographs of Fort Island at
**http://www.island-images.co.uk/Year2001/0106070834.html - Derby Fort 7 Jun 2001
**http://www.island-images.co.uk/Year2003/0311060830.html - Chapel and Fort 6 Nov 2003
Islands of the Isle of Man
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