Flat Holm

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Flat Holm Native name: Ynys Echni
Geography
Location	Bristol Channel
Coordinates	51°22′37″N 3°07′20″W / 51.37687, -3.12207Coordinates: 51°22′37″N 3°07′20″W / 51.37687, -3.12207
Area	35 hectares (86 acres)
Length	630 m (2,100 ft)
Width	610 m (2,000 ft)
Highest point	32 m (100 ft)
Administration
Wales
County Council	Cardiff

Flat Holm (Welsh: Ynys Echni) is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) from Lavernock Point in Glamorgan. It includes the most southerly point of Wales.

The island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods. Religious uses include visits by disciples of Saint Cadoc in the 6th century, and in 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers. A sanatorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff. Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over water from Flat Holm to Lavernock. Because of frequent shipwrecks a pharos was built on the island, which was replaced by a Trinity House lighthouse in 1737. Because of its strategic position on the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff a series of gun emplacements, known as Flat Holm Battery, were built in the 1860s as part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts. On the outbreak of World War II, the island was rearmed.

It is now managed by Cardiff Council's Flat Holm Project Team and designated as a Local Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, because of the maritime grassland and rare plants such as Rock Sea-Lavender (Limonium binervosum) and Wild Leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The island also has significant breeding colonies of Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). It is also home to Slow worms (Anguis fragilis) with larger than usual blue markings.

Contents 1 History 2 Buildings 2.1 Lighthouse and Fog Horn Station 2.2 Farm House 2.3 Batteries and Barracks 2.4 Radar station 2.5 Isolation hospital 3 Flat Holm Project 4 Geography 5 Geology 6 Flora and fauna 7 Sustainability 8 Severn Barrage study 9 In popular culture 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

The first traces of human habitation of the island are from the late Bronze Age, 900 to 700 BC, known as the Ewart Park Phase. A bronze axe head was discovered on the island in 1988, between the island's modern lone farmhouse and West Beach, at grid reference ST21986498. ^[1] In the sub-Roman period of the 6th century AD, it became a retreat for Saint Gildas, who lived on the island as a hermit.^[2] His friend, Saint Cadoc lived at the same time on nearby Barry Island, and the two sometimes met up for prayers. In the late 560s, Gildas was being harassed by pirates on the island and agreed to return to Ireland when asked by the High King Ainmuire mac Sétnai.^[3]

In 1815, Dr. Thomas Turner investigated a field 23 metres (75 ft) northeast of the farmhouse in which were two Christian graves located close together; one grave had been opened and contained a male skeleton inside.^[5] The open grave's headstone was made of purbeck marble and engraved with a Celtic cross, but had since broken in two.^[6] A second disturbed grave marked with headstone was found to the southeast and contained coffin with iron bolts. Inside the coffin were two skeletons that had been doused in lime, indicating that they died from a contagious disease.^[7]

Anglo-Saxons called the island Bradanreolice. Reolice derives from an Irish word meaning churchyard or graveyard, alluding to the belief that the island had some type of religious meaning to people at the time.^[1] However, the island's current name of "Holm" comes from the Old Norse meaning "island in an estuary".^[8] Records indicate that a Viking fleet from the south of Brittany led by two earls, Other and Hroald, took refuge on the island following their defeat by the Saxons at Watchet.^[1][9]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 1067, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, mother of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, stayed on the island before travelling to St. Omer in France after the Norman invasion of Britain.^[10] Lord Robert Fitzhamon, a cousin of William the Conquerer formed the Shire of Glamorgan in Wales proper, with Cardiff Castle at the centre of his new domain. Flat Holm came within the parish boundary of St. Mary's, one of Cardiff's two parish churches, and was kept as a hereditary property of the Norman Lords of Glamorgan.^[11]

A survey by archaeologist H. J. Thomas in 1979 unearthed a number of medieval potsherds in the vicinity of the farmhouse and found evidence of continuous occupation of the island including middens containing numerous bones of cows, pigs, sheep and rabbits, along with oyster and cockle shells.^[12] Fragments of green glazed jugs and flagons from the late 12th to 13th century and shards of pottery from the 14th century were also found on the island. The presence of Pennant sandstone roofing tiles and a fragment of a 14th-century glazed ridge tile indicate the existence of a substantial medieval building, possibly a chapel, demolished when the present farmhouse was constructed. Property records from 1542 show that King Henry VIII granted a lease to farm the island to a gentleman by the name of Edmund Tournor. His family remained on Flat Holm until the end of the 17th century when the lease passed to Joseph Robins.^[9]

During the 18th century, the island's location made it an ideal base for smuggling. An old mine shaft on the north side of the island connects with a series of natural tunnels, and a concealed exit to the sea.^[13] Although Flat Holm was in full view of both the Welsh and English coasts, customs authorities were powerless to act as they had no boat to take them to the island. According to tradition, a small cave in the east cliff at Flat Holm was used for the storage of contraband, mainly tea and brandy.^[14]

In 1835, clergyman John Ashley from Clevedon, England voluntarily ministered to the population of the island. Ashley created the Bristol Channel Mission in order to serve seafarers on the 400 sailing vessels in the Bristol Channel. The mission would later become the Mission to Seafarers, which provides ministerial services to sailors in over 300 ports.^[15] A service is held annually to bless the island.

On May 13, 1897, a 22-year-old Italian inventor named Guglielmo Marconi, assisted by a Cardiff Post Office engineer named George Kemp, transmitted the first wireless signals over water from Flat Holm to Lavernock Point near Penarth, Wales.^[16] Having failed to interest the Italian government in his project, Marconi brought his telegraphy system to Britain. There he met William Preece, a Welshman, who was a major figure in the field as well as the Chief Engineer of the General Post Office. Marconi and Preece erected a 34-meter-high (111 feet) transmitter on Flat Holm as well as a 30-meter-high (98 feet) receiving mast at Lavernock Point. The first trials on the May 11 and 12 failed. On May 13, the mast at Lavernock was raised to 50 metres (164 ft) and the signals were received clearly. The message sent by Morse Code was "Are you ready"; the Morse slip signed by Marconi and Kemp is now in the National Museum of Wales.

The island made communication history a second time on 8 October 2002, by becoming one of the first areas of South Wales to link to the Internet through a wireless connection.^[17]

[edit] Buildings

[edit] Lighthouse and Fog Horn Station

The treacherous conditions for ships around the island also led to several shipwrecks. The British passenger vessel Tapley lost seven passengers when it became stranded on Flat Holm in January 1773 on its passage from Cork, Ireland to Bristol.^[18] The William and Mary a British sloop, foundered after striking the Wolves rocks in darkness while en route from Bristol to Waterford on October 23, 1817; the ship sank within fifteen minutes and fifty-four passengers were lost.^[19][20] The Mate, John Outridge, and two sailors made off in the only boat and fifteen survivors were later rescued, having clung to the ship's rigging.^[21] Fifty of the bodies were recovered and buried on Flat Holm.^[22] In 1938, the steamship Norman Queen ran ashore on Flat Holm but was refloated,^[22] and in 1941 the steamship Middlesex was lost.^[23]

Flat Holm Lighthouse is 30 metres (98 ft) high and 50 metres (160 ft) above mean high water. It has a 100–watt lamp that flashes white and red every ten seconds, with a range of up to 56 kilometres (30 nmi).^[24]

A pharos (a brazier mounted on a wooden frame)^[9] stood on the high eastern part of the island but it was deemed unreliable in 1733 by the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol, who petitioned Trinity House for a lighthouse.^[24] The petition failed, so in 1735 William Crispe of Bristol submitted a proposal to build a lighthouse at his own expense. This proposal also failed but the negotiations resumed in 1736 when a vessel was wrecked on the Wolves rocks near Flat Holm and 60 soldiers drowned. Following this disaster, the Merchant Venturers (who made their fortunes from the slave trade in the West Indies)^[14] finally supported William Crispe's proposal. Crispe had to agree to spend £800 for the construction of the tower and pay costs incurred to obtain official permission (known as a Crown patent)^[9] was finally built in 1737, and the light first lit on 25 March 1738.^[25]

The lighthouse was struck by lightning in a severe storm just before Christmas on the 22nd December 1790. The keeper narrowly escaped falling through the stairway and the top of the tower was severely damaged, with a ten foot crack through the masonry which was over 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide at the top and all the oak beams supporting the top platform had to be replaced.^[14]

In 1819, the circular stone tower was raised from 21 metres (69 ft) to 27 metres (89 ft) – to house a more powerful lantern – and converted to occulting in 1881, by means of a clockwork operated mechanism. Flat Holm Light was the last signal station in the country in private ownership when in July 1822, Trinity House finally bought the lease for £15,838.10.^[9] Two years later a fountain oil lamp was installed and the lantern was raised by another 1.5 metres (4.9 ft),^[24] and in 1867 a lantern 4 metres (13 ft) in diameter was installed. The lighthouse was converted to include accommodation for up to four keepers in 1929, and it was manned until 1988, when it was automated and the keepers withdrawn. In 1997, the light was modernised and converted to solar power. It is now monitored and controlled by the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich, in Essex.

Originally built by Trinity House in 1906, the Foghorn building is a Grade II listed building^[26] The siren gave two blasts in quick succession at two minute intervals, was powered by a 15hp engine and could be clearly heard by people living on both coasts.^[27] The engines were replaced in the 1960's and restored by volunteers from the Flat Holm Society with the help of a Prince's Trust. The Fog Horn Station was officially reopened by The Welsh Secretary and the Assembly First Secretary in May 2000 when the foghorn was sounded for the first time since 1988.^[26]

[edit] Farm House

There are records of a dairy farm on the island and of a grange (house and farm buildings) being established by the Abbey of St Augustine after the island was granted to the abbey.^[28] In June 1815 a Dr Thomas Turner visited Flat Holm in a small boat and was stranded for a week due to high winds. He passed the time by exploring the island and noted that the farm was prospering (with the advantage of total exemption from rates and taxes) and counted "seven cows, two bulls, five sheep one horse, two pigs and two dogs".^[5] The 1881 census record for Flat Holm shows that the farmhouse was occupied by Henry and Emily Morgan, their four sons and four daughters, a governess (who was Henry's niece) and Emma Craddock, a 14-year-old servant.^[29] In 1897 the farmhouse was converted into the Flat Holm Hotel, and a bar and skittle alley were added, but there were disputes about the licensing hours and the hotel closed after a few years.^[9] The farmhouse has been renovated by the Flat Holm Project and is now used as accommodation for the wardens and visitors staying on the island.

[edit] Batteries and Barracks

Flat Holm Battery is a series of gun emplacements on Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel, which form part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts, built across the channel to protect the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff. The island was fortified following a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to France, where they had been concerned at the strength of the French Navy. The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, under direction of Lord Palmerston recommended fortification of the coast. Flat Holm formed part of this strategic coastal defence system and construction began in 1865 and was completed in 1869.^[9]

There are remains of four battery sites on the island:^[30]

• Castle Rock Battery three guns in two Moncrieff pits and one open-backed pit^[31]
• Farm House Battery two guns in one full Moncrieff pit and one open-backed pit^[31]
• Well Battery one gun in an open backed Moncrieff pit. The gun was removed by Army Apprentices in 1964.^[32]
• Lighthouse Battery three guns in two full Moncrieff pits and one open-backed pit^[31]

These four emplacements run from the northern to the southern point of the island, along the western coast. Nine Rifled muzzle loaders (RMLs) on disappearing Moncrieff carriages were built at the Royal Gun Foundry, Woolwich. They were mounted in four separate batteries, all in Moncrieff pits, 2 metres (7 ft) in diameter and 3 metres (10 ft) deep, constructed of limestone blocks and bricks. These pits had the advantage of being almost invisible to shipping and also offered protection to the gun crews. The guns were heavy (7 tons) for land service, constructed of wrought iron sections. They consisted of a rifle tube and cascabel. The overall length of each gun is 361 centimetres (142 in). They used a 52.3 kilograms (115 lb) Palliser shell and were mounted on the Moncrieff disappearing carriage.^[30] The guns were never needed so were only fired for test purposes.^[9]

In 1869, stone barracks were built to sleep up to 50 men, but the 1881 Census for Flat Holm shows that they were occupied only by Master Gunner Thomas Barrett, who was on the island with his family,(his son Albert was born on the island on the 31st of December 1881)^[33] and five soldiers.^[29] This was not unusual, as these men were simply there to keep the guns in good working order and they would be reinforced by regular artillery and volunteer troops if an invasion was imminent.^[32] The barracks for the battery were near the southernmost emplacement. This arrangement was vacated in 1901 and the buildings have now been restored by the Flat Holm Project for educational use. The fortifications also included a large tiled water catchment and underground storage tank, a ditch and bank system to protect the Lighthouse Battery from cross island attack, an administrative building and a secure store.^[32]

[edit] Radar station

On the outbreak of World War II over 350 soldiers of the Royal Artillery were stationed on the island,^[9] which was re-armed with four 4.5 inch guns and associated searchlights to be used for anti-aircraft and close defence, together with two 40 millimetres (1.6 in) Bofors guns.^[30] A GL (Gun Loading) MkII radar station^[34] was also placed in the centre of the island.^[9] The structures formed part of the Fixed Defences, Severn scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping convoy de-grouping zone between Cardiff, Barry and Flat Holm.^[35] These works were abandoned after the war, and most of the equipment removed by German prisoners of war and the site has had no military use since. The helipad still remains in the centre of the island.

[edit] Isolation hospital

In July 1883, the steamship Rishanglys left three seamen on the island who were believed to be suffering from cholera, one of whom subsequently died.^[36] The only accommodation was a canvas tent, and residents of the island petitioned Cardiff council for compensation, complaining of loss of income from visitors and difficulty in selling vegetables grown on their farm at the market in Cardiff.^[37] From 1896, following these complaints the Cardiff Corporation paid the then owner the Marquis of Bute fifty pounds a year for all land that was not used for military purposes or within the lease of Trinity House,^[9] and built a permanent sanatorium for cholera patients as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff. The building was described in The Lancet as a "pavilion" comprising of two six-bed wards, a nurse's room and requisite sanitary arrangements.^[36] In 1893 three more sailors arrived in Cardiff from Marseilles on the SS Blue Jacket, suspected of having cholera. The first engineer, Thomas Smith, and able seaman Robert Doran, were deported for isolation in the hospital on Flat Holm to prevent spread of the disease. The second mate, P. J. Morris, was also sent to the island as a precautionary measure, but quickly recovered.^[38] It is unique in being the only Victorian isolation hospital sited on a British offshore island.^[39] The last patient to die in the hospital, a victim of bubonic plague, was cremated on the island at the end of the 19th century. The hospital finally closed in 1935 and it has remained derelict since.^[40][41] Both the hospital main block and laundry block are grade II listed buildings and are on the Buildings at Risk Register.^[42]

[edit] Flat Holm Project

In 1975, South Glamorgan County Council leased the island for the next 99 years. In March 1995 the county council agreed a 50-year lease from the Crown Estate for the slipway and foreshore and acquired the freehold on 12 December 1995.^[43] Flat Holm is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve, as stipulated in that lease. It is managed by Cardiff Council as The Flat Holm Project.^[44] The project team operates the Lewis Alexander, a boat which is purpose-built for the crossing to Flat Holm, able to carry up to 45 passengers and essential supplies to the island.

The Flat Holm Society is a charity that supports the work of the Flat Holm Project, who manage the island as a Local Nature Reserve.

[edit] Geography

Flat Holm is located in the Bristol Channel. It is a small, almost circular, limestone island, approximately 620 metres (2,000 ft) in diameter, covering 35 hectares (86 acres). It rises in a gentle slope from the exposed western rocky shore to more sheltered easterly cliffs, at the top of which stands the prominent lighthouse. At its highest point it is 32 metres (100 ft) above sea level.

The nearby Steep Holm is considered part of England. About 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) northwest of the island are two very small islands collectively known as The Wolves, measuring approximately 25 metres (82 ft) by 20 metres (66 ft).

The tidal range in the Bristol Channel is 15 metres (49 ft),^[45] second only to Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada.^[46][47] This has an effect on the coastline of the island and surrounding marine environment. Attempts have been made to identify the major surface water flow patterns around the island. Initial results from aerial photography indicate that a mathematical approach can give a useful approximation to the observed flow patterns. Additional information on tidal currents throughout the tidal cycle and detailed bathymetry in the area are required to further the predictive model.^[48]

[edit] Geology

During much of the most recent ice ages, from 1.8 million years ago, the sea level in the Severn estuary was some 50m below the current level. At those times Flat Holm was joined to the Somerset coast as an extremity of the Mendip hills.^[49] Within the last 15,000 years, since the Neolithic period, the ice sheets retreated, the flat plains surrounding the river estuary flooded, and the hilltops of Flat Holm and Steep Holm became islands.^[50][51]

Flat Holm and Steep Holm form a link between the Carboniferous limestones of the west of England and Sully Island and Barry. Part of the island is designated a Geological Conservation Review (GCR) Site and recognised within the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).^[52] The GCR and SSSI interest lies along the south-western shoreline from the north west point to Lighthouse Point and a wave cut platform in the limestone that displays large fossil "ripple marks".^[53]

There are old mines for galena, a sulphide of lead, which is argentiferous (silver bearing) and the pits and mounds visible are a result of trial borings. A dispute over lead mining rights in the 1780s ended with Lord Mountstuart making an official complaint that the lighthouse keeper was using the coals from the light for processing lead.^[54] Mining for lead was not profitable, however, and the works were abandoned.^[14] Red marls from the Triassic period fill joints in the carboniferous limestone showing evidence of karstic (cave forming) processes during this period. Caves on the western and north-eastern sides of the island were used during the years of smuggling.^[1]

[edit] Flora and fauna

Flat Holm was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1972. The designation covers the maritime grassland which is mainly concentrated around the edges of the island.^[40]

There are no endemic plant species but the relative isolation of the island has allowed a number of hardy species such as Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre) to thrive. There are also a number of relatively rare plants, such as Rock Sea-Lavender (Limonium binervosum) that is restricted to the West and Wales coasts, and Wild Leek (Allium ampeloprasum). The leek grows to 6 feet (1.8 m) and Flat Holm is one of only five places in the UK where it is found.^[40] Related to the onion, the leek has a bulb that grows for several years producing only leaves, then blooms with large purple flowers that smell of garlic. After flowering the bulb dies and produces up to 150 bulblets.

Others plants may have been introduced by the Augustinian Community for their medicinal uses.^[55] These include Dove's-foot Crane's-bill Geranium molle, an anodyne plant claimed by Nicholas Culpeper to have a wide range of medicinal uses and an "excellent good cure for those that have inward wounds, hurts, or bruises, both to stay the bleeding, to dissolve and expel the congealed blood, and to heal the parts, as also to cleanse and heal outward sores, ulcers and fistulas".^[56] The Wild Peony (Paeonia mascula) was introduced to the island (and nearby Steep Holm), possibly by monks,^[57] and has naturalised. 37 plants were taken to the island from Steep Holm by Frank Harris, the farmer at the time, in the 1930s, many of which died during the World War II occupation and fortification of the island. One remaining plant was reintroduced by David Worall, the Flat Holm Warden, in 1982 and is protected by fencing near the path to the lighthouse. A few plants grown from seed also survive in the farmhouse garden.^[58]

The island has a significant breeding colony of over 4,000 pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus), 400 pairs of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), 2 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus) and varying numbers of Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) and Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopodidae). The feeding habits of Lesser Black-backed Gulls was studied in 1989, and it was shown that smaller clutches were laid than in previous years and that supplementary feeding did not increase egg or clutch size.^[59][60]

The island is also home to slow worms (Anguis fragilis). Flat Holm's slow-worm population has unusually large blue markings. There is a population of rabbits which were introduced to the island for farming in the 12th century.^[9] These suffer from Mixamatosis with the result that the numbers are contained. The island has been grazed since 1989, initially by goats, but by sheep since 1997. Soay sheep were introduced in 1992, and as of 2008 there are 28 of them grazing wild on the island.^[61]

[edit] Sustainability

The Flat Holm project aims to develop the island as a showcase of sustainable technologies. The original power supply consisted of several diesel generators at different properties which were not connected to each other. In 2006 underground 230 Vac cables were installed to form a ‘mini-grid’ between the farmhouse, workshops and the Fog Horn Keepers Cottage. This was powered with a (13.5 kW) inverter/charger system located at the farmhouse with the farmhouse diesel generator as back-up.

In 2007 the system was extended to include a battery bank charged by two photovoltaic solar arrays, and by a 6 kW wind turbine sited at the high point of the island where an existing redundant telecommunications tower was located.^[62]

[edit] Severn Barrage study

If a Severn Barrage were ever to be constructed it could have consequences for Flat Holm, depending on the design and the route. A number of studies have been proposed, the latest being when John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, announced a further feasibility study on 25 September 2007 to follow on from the report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The proposal for a hydro-electric barrier to generate 8.6 GW and meet five percent of Britain's power needs, is being opposed by some environmental groups.^[63][64]

This proposed barrage would pass two miles west of Flat Holm, so it would be within the impounded area.^[65] The study is expected to last at least two years, with the cost estimated at around £9 million. It will be split into two stages with a decision point at the end of each. The first, which is likely to run until late 2008, will focus on high level issues and reach an initial view on whether there are any fundamental issues that would preclude a tidal scheme in the Severn Estuary. Subject to the decision at the end of the first phase, the second phase will look at the issues in more detail and culminate in a full public consultation in early 2010.^[66]

[edit] In popular culture

• In the BBC TV series Torchwood, an episode entitled Adrift featured the island as home to a secret medical facility.

• BBC's Countryfile programme broadcast on 17 February 2008 featured Flat Holm and the possibility of a Severn Barrage.^[67]

• BBC's The One Show broadcast on 15th May 2008 featured Miranda Krestovnikoff travelling to the island of Flat Holm to see the slow worms, described as "Britain’s most elusive reptile"^[68]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• 1881 Flat Holm Census
• Cardiff Council Flat Holm Project
• Flat Holm Island Teachers Pack
• The Flat Holm Society
• BBC Flatholm Site
• The Palmerston Forts Society