Bryher, Isles of Scilly
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Bryher (grid reference SV880150) is the smallest of the five inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly. It is home to a population of 92 (census of 2001). Bryher has an area of 327 acres - just over half a square mile (1.3 km²).
It lies to the west of Tresco, and is separated from that island by the Tresco Channel. Off the southern end of Bryher is the uninhabited island of Samson.
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[edit] Church
All Saints' Anglican church claims to be the most westerly church in the Anglican provinces of Canterbury and York.
The earliest record of a permanent church on Bryher is the account of the dedication of a small building to 'God and All Saints' by the Chaplain of St Mary's, Revd Paul Hathaway, in 1742. It was approximately 24 feet by 13 feet and also served the community on Samson.
The church was enlarged in 1822 to provide seating for 154 people.
There is a plain granite font dated 1861. There were additions and alterations in 1882 and a new chancel was added in 1897 and new roof (6 feet higher than the previous) in 1930.
The stained glass windows were replaced, the work being completed in 2007.
[edit] Population
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[edit] Factual Bryher
- Bryher is Cornish for ‘Place of Hills’. There are a number of hills on the island, including Watch Hill, a viewpoint, and Samson Hill at the southern end of the island.
- Scenery on the island includes sandy beaches at Rushy Bay and Hell Bay.
- The Hell Bay Hotel is located at Stinkingporth Bay (probably so called because of the smell of seaweed). It is owned by the Tresco Estate.
- At low tide, mudflats are exposed in the Tresco Channel.
- The Great Pool is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- In the north of the island are the Fraggle Rock Bar, Vine Cafe and Bryher Stores.
- Golden Eagle studio of the artist Richard Pearce.
- In the centre of the island is Bar Quay, which was built in 1990 by the television programme Challenge Anneka. Known to many islanders as 'Anna-Quay'. In 2007 this was replaced by a new concrete quay, as part of a Scilly-wide programme of quay rebuilding.
- Safe anchorage for small yachts in the channel and green bay.
- Local activities include sailing, scuba and watching wildlife.
- Bryher has recently become a popular girl's name in west Cornwall.
- Annie Winnifred Ellerman, daughter of the shipping magnate Sir John Ellerman, took the name of this island, Bryher, as her nom de plume.
- Most of the untenanted land on Bryher is leased to the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust who are currently using ponies and Red Ruby cattle to graze the overgrown areas as part of the Waves of Heath project. This project is opposed by over two thirds of the Bryher islanders who have set up an action group; their objective is to see these animals removed from the island.
[edit] Fictional Bryher
- Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo. ISBN 9780435130473. A film version, called When the Whales Came, was made on location in 1989 starring Helen Mirren, Helen Pearce, Paul Scofield and David Suchet.
- Hell Bay by Sam Llewellyn
- The Wreck of the Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bryher web site
- Webcam
- Hell Bay Hotel is located adjacent to the Great Pool.
- Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust
- Photographs from Bryher, Isles of Scilly
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