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Concept
Burhou
Summary
Burhou (pronounced ber-ROO) is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildlife includes a colony of puffins (declining in numbers) and many rabbits.
It has no landing stage as such, but visitors use a small inlet. In rough weather it may be impossible to land.
The Guernsey botanist E. D. Marquand called it, "the most desolate and lonely of all the islands in our archipelago." He once had to spend the night there, as his return journey was delayed by fog.
The 1906 book, The Channel Pilot states –
Between Ortac, Verte Tête and Burhou Island, are scattered many dangerous rocks, and ledges among which the streams run with great velocity.
Despite being isolated, and inhabited briefly and infrequently, Burhou has a long history. Formerly, like the rest of the English Channel, it would have been linked to both modern-day England and France by dry land many thousands of years ago.
Burhou, like many other Channel Islands (e.g. Lihou, Jethou), has the Norman suffix -hou, meaning a small island, from the Old Norse holmr. According to Dr. S.K. Kellet-Smith, "bur" refers to a storehouse – "Burhou is just the place where a fisherman would place a depository for his gear".
However, signs of human occupation/visitation are much older. Flint flakes have been found on the island, and one is currently in the Alderney Museum. In 1847, F. C. Lukis found two standing stones, but these have since been lost, according to the archaeologist David Johnston.
According to the Assize Roll of the 14th century, Burhou was a rabbit warren, and a refuge for fishermen. As Victor Coysh deduces, this would have meant that there would have been some kind of shelter there, as it would be difficult for the fishermen to take refuge without it.
A hut was built on the island in 1820 as a shelter for fishermen and sailors at the instigation of John Le Mesurier (hereditary governor of Alderney), but was destroyed during the German occupation of the Channel Islands (the Wehrmacht used it for target practice during WWII).
Official source
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