Piel Island
| Piel Island | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Waters | Morecambe Bay | |
| Geographical location | 54 ° 3 '49 " N , 3 ° 10' 28" W | |
|
||
| length | 520 m | |
| width | 260 m | |
| surface | 2 ha | |
| Residents | approx. 10 500 inhabitants / km² |
|
 |
||
Piel Island is a 20 acre island located one kilometer south of the Furness Peninsula in England in Morecambe Bay .
history
King Stephen transferred the island to the monks of the Cistercian Abbey Furness Abbey when it was founded in 1127. The monks set up a warehouse on the island and from the middle of the 13th century also traded via the island's port. At the beginning of the 14th century the warehouse was fortified to protect it from pirate attacks. The original wooden structure was later replaced with stone fortifications, the remains of which are now known as Piel Castle. With the dissolution of the English monasteries under Henry VIII , the island fell to the crown. To ward off the Spanish Armada which was fortified expanded. During the English Civil War , the island sided with Parliament and served its troops as a retreat after the fall of Liverpool . After the end of the civil war, Charles II gave the island to the 1st Duke of Albemarle as thanks for his support in the war. The island was used again as a trading post and was an upstream part of the port of Lancaster . The island eventually came into the possession of the Duke of Buccleuch , who donated the island to the town of Barrow-in-Furness in 1920 as a memorial for the First World War .
The island is now managed by English Heritage . It is linked to Walney Island by a natural low land bridge when the tide is low . From Roa Island , Piel Island can be reached by boat. There has been an inn on the island for about 300 years , the Ship Inn. This inn is run by the so-called King of Piel , who is now in the service of the town of Barrow-in-Furness . The island has about 10 permanent residents and, although historically part of Lancashire, is now part of Cumbria .
The island is part of the South Walney and Piel Channel Flats Site of Special Scientific Interest , along with the southern portion of Walney Island, Foulney Island, and Roa Island .
See also
Web links
- Piel Island official website
- Piel Island at The Cumbria Directory. (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ South Walney and Piel Channel Flats on SSSI List at Natural England