Virtually no records of Sark’s profusion of wildflowers were kept before the nineteenth century. In 1564 Helier de Carteret would have found the island a windswept plateau top covered in brambles, bracken and furze (whin or gorse) with valleys devoid of trees. The gardener, Thomas Knowlton (1691 – 1781), mentioned a white foxglove in 1726. Professor CC Babington recorded 252 plants in 1838, and published his Primitiae Florae Sarnicae the…
Monthly Archives: October 2016
In 1882 Victorian naturalist WA Luff listed 27 species of butterflies on Sark, and 48 moths. He mistakenly thought that though Sark was smaller than Guernsey it boasted a greater number of species, in fact, Guernsey has about twice the fauna. However, some of the rarer Guernsey species are comparatively common on Sark, e.g. Lappet moth (Gastropacha quercifolia). In his introduction to ‘Insects of Sark’ Luff pointed out that although…
Our dawn choruses in spring are full of song – in valleys such as Dixcart Valley the warbler species are mainly represented by Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler. Other warblers such as Cetti’s Warbler and Icterine Warbler sometimes make an appearance. The fruity warble of the Blackbird, the loud burst of song from the undergrowth of the Wren, the repeated notes of the Song Thrush, the Chiffchaff’s…
Sark Windmill 1571 Until the 20th century, Sark’s economy was based on grain; reliable mill was essential. Domestic handmills (like the pot quern at La Seigneurie) were small and inefficient, and the monks’ water mill above Port du Moulin could not serve forty settler families. Within six years of obtaining Queen Elizabeth’s grant of Sark (1565), Helier De Carteret built a windmill. The DE Carteret arms carved on the north…
The little barrel-roofed two-celled prison on Sark must be one of the world’s smallest prisons still used today. The present building is situated next to the Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre was originally built as a Girls School by Seigneur Ernest Le Pelley in 1841, completing the project which had been envisaged by his brother Pierre Le Pelley in consultation with his good friend Rev Cachemaille, which was to use…
The remains of the Silver Mines are located in Little Sark. You will see the chimneys from the mining era sticking up. The corner of the engine house shown in this image has since collapsed during a rough winter. When Queen Elizabeth I granted Helier de Carteret the right to settle Sark in 1565, she conferred on him the “Droit du Seigneur” which includes the rights to minerals and mining….
You will see Pilcher Monument rising up like a needle above Havre Gosselin on the west coast of Sark. The story behind the monument: One evening in October 1868 Agnew Giffard, engineer-in-charge of the new breakwater at Creux harbour, set off back to Guernsey in an 18ft gig. He left Havre Gosselin with his brother Walter, Russell Renouf (keeper of the breakwater lighthouse), Dr Gatehouse (medical officer, about to take…
Sark has miles of breath-taking coastline with spectacular scenery and a great choice of sandy bays or pebbly coves to explore, though you have to be prepared for a bit of an expedition to reach some of them. Sark is a plateau island, therefore most of the beaches involve a combination of steps and paths which can be fairly steep. Sea bathing in Sark is also a wonderful experience. The…
The Church was built in 1820 on what was once the site of a wooden tower housing the ‘Island Bell’ which now hangs at the Assembly room. Funding came partly from the 40 landowners (tenants) who subscribed to the family pews which are still in existence today, each one showing a distinctive embroidered coat of arms on the pew seat and kneeler. The church dates from 1820. For 250…
La Seigneurie Gardens; one of the most enchanting gardens in the Channel Islands Set between flower-strewn walls, mature woodland and the towers and crenellations of one of the most historic buildings in Sark, La Seigneurie Gardens provide a tranquil contrast to the windswept wildness of the island’s beautiful coast. The formal walled garden is one of the finest in the Channel Islands. The largely frost-free haven within its walls shelters…
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