The Scilly Islands The Scilly Islands Historic Buildings of The Isles of Scilly Top Surnames Jane Auterson (1807 - 1898) "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" Name: Jane Duff Gender: Female Christening Date: 09 Nov 1807 Christening Place: SCILLY ISLANDS PARISH,CORNWALL,ENGLAND Birth Date: 26 Oct 1... David Auterson (c.1800 - 1867) 1851 Census Hugh Street, Scilly Isles St. Mary David Auterson HD M 51 Draper and Grocer born Ireland Jane Auterson WI M 43 Draper and Grocer born Cornwall, St. Mary Scilly Richard Duff Father... history The Isles of Scilly These islands form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.

The group consists of 5 inhabited islands, 140 others Called by the Greeks Hesperides and Cassiterides Romans called them Sillinœ and Silurœ insulœ, Written in ancient records Sully or Sulley Cornish: Syllan or Enesek Syllan The name 'Scilly' comes from SULLY meaning the Sun Isles which describe its climate with an excellent sunshine record Capital city - Hugh Town People from the Scilly Islands are called - "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. Natural England have designated the Isles of Scilly as National Character Area 158 Language: It is not known when the islands' inhabitants stopped speaking the Cornish language, but the language declined in Cornwall in the Late Middle Ages; it was still dominant between the islands and Bodmin at the time of the Reformation, but declined quickly afterwards. The islands appear to have lost the old Celtic language before parts of Penwith on the mainland.

Famous for:- Area 16.03 Sq km2 (6.19 Sq mi) Places of Interest Bant’s Carn burial chamber and Halangy Down Bronze Age village Bronze Age tomb on Tregarthen Hill Tresco Cromwell's Castle Granite stacks of Shipman Head Innisidgen Burial Chambers Old Man of Gugh, an ancient standing stone Tresco Abbey Gardens St Mary's , (Cornish: An Nor) Holy Vale St Agnes , (Cornish: Pennpras) Gugh Another island of Samson was inhabited by one family in 1669; this had increased to six dwelling houses and 30 inhabitants in 1794. By 1829 there were 36 residents on Samson. In 1855, the last 10 residents were ordered to evacuate the island; the remains of their houses can still be seen. The Isles of Scilly are still part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall , and some services have been combined with those of Cornwall. Since 1890 the islands have had a separate local authority.

Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council and today is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy, along with farming and agriculture. Genealogical Sources Auterson - David Auterson (Abt 1800 -1867) ~ricksmith61/scilly/gedcom/auterson.html Banfield Various ~ricksmith61/scilly/wc_toc.html History There were early trading connections with the Phœnicians and Romans and they were occasionally appropriated by the Romans as a place of banishment for state criminals. Timeline 10th Century The first mention of the Scilly islands in history is in the tenth century, when they were subdued by King Athelstan Olaf Tryggvason became King Olaf I of Norway in 995. Born c. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars. In 986 he (supposedly) met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly.

In Snorri Sturluson's Royal Sagas of Norway, it is stated that this seer told him: Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens. When thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptised. 11th Century In or before the reign of Edward the Confessor , some of the islands, and their tithes, had been given to certain monks or hermits who lived in the island of St. Nicholas, now Trescaw. King Henry the First granted all the churches of Suliye to the abbot of Tavistock and the land which had belonged to the monks, or rather hermits, in the reign of King Edward, when Burgald was Bishop of Cornwall.

Pope Celestin, in 1193, confirmed to the abbey the islands of St. Nicholas, St. Sampson, St. Elid, and St. Teon, the island called Nullo, with all their churches and oratories, as well as certain lands in other islands. Reginald Earl of Cornwall granted all wrecks, except whole ships and whales, in Kentemen and Nurcho to the monks, and the isles of St. Lid, St. Sampson, and St. Teon. With the Norman Conquest, the Isles of Scilly came more under centralised control. At the time the Domesday survey was conducted - the islands would have formed part of the "Exeter Domesday" circuit, which included Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire.

---12th Century In the mid-12th century there was reportedly a Viking attack on the Isles of Scilly, called Syllingar by the Norse, recorded in the Orkneyinga saga— Sweyn Asleifsson "went south, under Ireland, and seized a barge belonging to some monks in Syllingar and plundered it."[1] (Chap LXXIII) "...the three chiefs—Swein , Þorbjörn and Eirik—went out on a plundering expedition. They went first to the Suðreyar [Hebrides], and all along the west to the Syllingar, where they gained a great victory in Maríuhöfn on Columba's-mass [9 June], and took much booty. Then they returned to the Orkneys." It is generally considered that Cornwall, and possibly the Isles of Scilly, came under the dominion of the English Crown late in the reign of Athelstan. In early times one group of islands was in the possession of a confederacy of hermits.

King Henry I gave it to the abbey of Tavistock who established a priory on Tresco, which was abolished at the Reformation. 13th Century The first proprietor mentioned as holding under the Earl, is Robert de Wick, who, by an ancient deed, without date, conveys to the monks of Scilly the tithes of those islands, which he had unjustly detained from them. Drugo de Barentin was governor of the Scilly islands, in the reign of Henry III but it isn't known whether he had any property in theIslands. In the reign of Edward I Ralph de Blanchminster held the castle of Ennor, in the Scilly islands, by the service of finding 12 armed men to keep the peace in those islands: complaint was made that he had not only failed in this service, but had committed the King's coroner, who came to the island for the purpose of holding an assize, to the prison of La Val. 14th Century In 1314, Ralph de Blanchminster had the King's licence for embattling his castle of Inor, in the isles of Scilly.

In 1345, Ralph de Blanchminster held the isles of Scilly under the duchy of Cornwall, as of the honor of Launceston, by the annual render of 300 puffins at Michaelmas. 1305 - William le Poer, coroner of Scilly, is recorded as being worried about the extent of wrecking in the islands, and sent a petition to the King. The names provide a wide variety of origins, e.g. Robert and Henry Sage (English), Richard de Tregenestre (Cornish), Ace de Veldre (French), Davy Gogch (possibly Welsh, or Cornish), and Adam le Fuiz Yaldicz (Spanish?). 15th Century In the reign of Henry VI , the rent was only 50 puffins, or 6s. 8d. The islands were then the property of Sir John Coleshill, representative of the Blanchminsters: their annual value in 1484 was estimated at 40s. in time of peace. 16th Century Sir Francis Godolphin received a lease on the Isles in 1568.

The Scilly islands belonged to Davers and Whittington, a branch of the Arundells which inherited the estates of the Coleshills and Blanchminsters. In the reign of Edward VI. , Thomas Lord Seymour , the Lord Admiral, became proprietor of the Scilly islands. One accusation charges him with having gained the isles, "bought of divers men, (viz. the heirs of Danvers and Whittington". The Lord Admiral was beheaded and attainted in 1549, when the temporal property of the Scilly islands fell into the duchy. 17th Century During the English Civil War, the Parliamentarians captured the isles; their garrison mutinied and returned the isles to the Royalists. In 1645 they provided a temporary protection to Prince Charles and his friends, Lord Hopton and Lord Cape. In 1649, Sir John Grenville fortified and held them for King Charles the Second. By 1651 Sir John Grenville , the Royalist governor, was using the islands as a base for privateering raids on Commonwealth and Dutch shipping.

The Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp sailed to the isles, arriving on 30 May 1651 and demanded compensation. As there was no compensation or satisfactory reply he declared war on England in June. It was during this period that the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War started between the isles and the Netherlands. In June 1651, Admiral Robert Blake recaptured the isles for the Parliamentarians. At first Blake's attack on Old Grimsby failed, but the subsequently was more successful, taking Tresco and Bryher. Grenville and Blake negotiated terms that permitted the Royalists to surrender honourably. The Parliamentary forces then fortified the islands. They built Cromwell's Castle — now referred to as King Charles's Castle . 18th Century On the night of 22 October 1707 a naval disaster took place when out of a fleet of 21 Royal Navy ships commanded by Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell , six were driven onto the cliffs. Four of the ships capsized, with at least 1,450 dead, including the admiral, who was murdered by robbers on the beach. The probable cause was poor navigation.

19th Century In 1834 Augustus John Smith acquired the lease from the Duchy for £20,000. He set about changing the islanders' way of life, expelling those who could not find a job locally and evicting some of the inhabitants of smaller islands, in a manner similar to that practised in the Scottish clearances. In 1855, he expelled the ten inhabitants of Samson, in order to turn the island into a deer park (the deer did not like the habitat, and escaped). Smith created the quasi-aristocratic title Lord Proprietor for himself, and many of his actions were unpopular. Besides building a new quay at Hugh Town on St. Mary's, he sowed gorse and trees to provide shelter for the agricultural land. He built schools on the well-inhabited islands. Governors of Scilly An early governor of Scilly was Thomas Godolphin , whose son Francis received a lease on the Isles in 1568. They were styled Governors of Scilly and the Godolphins and their Osborne relatives held this position until 1834.

In 1834 Augustus John Smith acquired the lease from the Duchy for £20,000. Smith created the title Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly for himself, and many of his actions were unpopular. The lease remained in his family until it expired for most of the Isles in 1920 when ownership reverted to the Duchy of Cornwall. Today, the Dorrien-Smith estate still holds the lease for the island of Tresco. 1918–1920 Arthur Algernon Dorrien-Smith (1876-1955) To participate in any project - you do need to first be a collaborator - so join the project. See the discussion Project Help: How to add Text to a Project - Starter Kit to get you going! How to Participate If you have any queries please start a discussion linked to this project. (See the menu top right). Please add related projects to the menu on the right. If you have links to related web pages that would be of interest to others please add them in the relevant section at the bottom of the page. In order to do this use the drop down menu at the top left of the screen and Join the Project.

If this option is not available to you then contact a collaborator and ask to be added to the project. As a collaborator you will be able to edit this page. Add any documents of interest using the menu at the top right of the page, and then add a link to the document in the text under the heading below. If you do not know how to do this please contact one of the other collaborators to assist you. Notes [1] Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9 References Isles of Scilly - 必应 Sign in Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (/ˈsɪli/; Cornish: Syllan or Enesek Syllan) are an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The population of all the islands at the 2011 census was 2,203.

Scilly forms part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a separate local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council and today is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. ... (展开) The adjective "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy, along with farming and agriculture. 看看这个网站，它是由一个男人在Bryher锡利群岛的岛屿之一。 答 Take a look at this website that is run by a man on Bryher one of the islands of the Isles of Scilly. 锡利群岛位于28英里土地的结束。 有超过150的锡利群岛的岛屿。 答 the isles of scilly are located 28 miles off land's end. there are over 150 islands in the scilly isles.

Ancient history Scilly has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and until the early 20th century its history had been one of subsistence living. Farming and fishing continue, but the main industry now is tourism. The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides (Tin Isles) visited by the Phoenicians and mentioned by the Greeks. However, the archipelago itself does not contain much tin—it may be that the islands were used as a staging post. It is likely that until relatively recent times the islands were much larger and perhaps joined together into one island named Ennor. Rising sea levels flooded the central plain around 400–500 AD, forming the current fifty-five islands and islets, if an island is defined as 'land surrounded by water at high tide and supporting land vegetation.' The word Ennor is a contraction of En Noer (Moer, mutated to Noer), meaning the 'great island'. Evidence for the older large island includes: A description in Roman times describes Scilly as "Scillonia insula" in the singular, indicating either a single island or an island much bigger than any of the others.

Remains of a prehistoric farm have been found on Nornour, which is now a small rocky skerry far too small for farming. There once was an Iron Age Britain community here that extended into Roman times. This community was likely formed by immigrants from Brittany, likely the Veneti who were active in the tin trade from mining in Cornwall and Devon. At certain low tides the sea becomes shallow enough for people to walk between some of the islands. This is possibly one of the sources for stories of drowned lands, e.g. Lyonesse. Ancient field walls are visible below the high tide line off some of the islands (e.g. Samson). Some of the Cornish language place names also appear to reflect past shorelines, and former land areas. The whole of southern England has been steadily sinking in opposition to post-glacial rebound in Scotland: this has caused the rias (drowned river valleys) on the southern Cornish coast, e.g. River Fal and the Tamar Estuary. Offshore, midway between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, is the supposed location of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature, of which Tristan is said to be a king.

This may be a folk memory of inundated lands, but this legend is also common among the Brythonic peoples; the legend of Ys is a parallel and cognate legend in Brittany as is that of Cantre'r Gwaelod in Wales. Scilly has been identified as the place of exile of two heretical 4th century bishops, Instantius and Tiberianus, who were followers of Priscillian. Norse and Norman period In 995, Olaf Tryggvason became King Olaf I of Norway. Born c. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars. In 986 he (supposedly) met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly. He was probably Priscillian and a part of the tiny Christian community that was exiled here from Spain by Emperor Maximus for Priscillianism and their part in the Priscilline heresy. In Snorri Sturluson's Royal Sagas of Norway, it is stated that this seer told him: Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds.

Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens. When thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptised. The legend continues that, as the seer foretold, Olaf was attacked by a group of mutineers upon returning to his ships. As soon as he had recovered from his wounds, he let himself be baptised. He then stopped raiding Christian cities, and lived in England and Ireland. In 995, he used an opportunity to return to Norway. When he arrived, the Haakon Jarl was facing a revolt. Olaf Tryggvason persuaded the rebels to accept him as their king, and Jarl Haakon was murdered by his own slave, while he was hiding from the rebels in a pig sty.

With the Norman Conquest, the Isles of Scilly came more under centralised control. About twenty years later, the Domesday survey was conducted. The islands would have formed part of the "Exeter Domesday" circuit, which included Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire. In the mid-12th century, there was reportedly a Viking attack on the Isles of Scilly, called Syllingar by the Norse, recorded in the Orkneyinga saga— Sweyn Asleifsson "went south, under Ireland, and seized a barge belonging to some monks in Syllingar and plundered it." (Chap LXXIII) "...the three chiefs—Swein , Þorbjörn and Eirik—went out on a plundering expedition. They went first to the Suðreyar [Hebrides], and all along the west to the Syllingar, where they gained a great victory in Maríuhöfn on Columba's-mass [9 June], and took much booty. Then they returned to the Orkneys." "Maríuhöfn" literally means "Mary's Harbour/Haven".

The name does not make it clear if it referred to a harbour on a larger island than today's St Mary's, or a whole island. It is generally considered that Cornwall, and possibly the Isles of Scilly, came under the dominion of the English Crown late in the reign of Athelstan. In early times one group of islands was in the possession of a confederacy of hermits. King Henry I gave it to the abbey of Tavistock who established a priory on Tresco, which was abolished at the Reformation.

Later Middle Ages and early modern period At the turn of the 14th century, the Abbot and convent of Tavistock Abbey petitioned the king, "stat[ing] that they hold certain isles in the sea between Cornwall and Ireland, of which the largest is called Scilly, to which ships come passing between France, Normandy, Spain, Bayonne, Gascony, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Cornwall: and, because they feel that in the event of a war breaking out between the kings of England and France, or between any of the other places mentioned, they would not have enough power to do justice to these sailors, they ask that they might exchange these islands for lands in Devon, saving the churches on the islands appropriated to them." William le Poer, coroner of Scilly, is recorded in 1305 as being worried about the extent of wrecking in the islands, and sending a petition to the King. The names provide a wide variety of origins, e.g.

Robert and Henry Sage (English), Richard de Tregenestre (Cornish), Ace de Veldre (French), Davy Gogch (possibly Welsh, or Cornish), and Adam le Fuiz Yaldicz (Spanish?). It is not known at what point the islands' inhabitants stopped speaking the Cornish language, but the language seems to have gone into decline in Cornwall beginning in the Late Middle Ages; it was still dominant between the islands and Bodmin at the time of the Reformation, but it suffered an accelerated decline thereafter. The islands appear to have lost the old Celtic language before parts of Penwith on the mainland, in contrast to the history of Irish or Scottish Gaelic. During the English Civil War, the Parliamentarians captured the isles, only to see their garrison mutiny and return the isles to the Royalists. By 1652 the Royalist governor, Sir John Grenville, was using the islands as a base for privateering raids on Commonwealth and Dutch shipping. The Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp sailed to the isles and on arriving on 30 May 1651 demanded compensation. In absence of compensation or a satisfactory reply, he declared war on England in June.

It was during this period that the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War started between the isles and the Netherlands. In June 1651, Admiral Robert Blake recaptured the isles for the Parliamentarians. Blake's initial attack on Old Grimsby failed, but the next attacks succeeded in taking Tresco and Bryher. Blake placed a battery on Tresco to fire on St Mary's, but one of the guns exploded, killing its crew and injuring Blake. A second battery proved more successful. Subsequently, Grenville and Blake negotiated terms that permitted the Royalists to surrender honourably. The Parliamentary forces then set to fortifying the islands. They built Cromwell's Castle—a gun platform on the west side of Tresco—using materials scavenged from an earlier gun platform further up the hill. Although this poorly sited earlier platform dated back to the 1550s, it is now referred to as King Charles's Castle. During the night of 22 October 1707, the isles were the scene of one of the worst maritime disasters in British history, when out of a fleet of 21 Royal Navy ships headed from Gibraltar to Portsmouth, six were driven onto the cliffs.

Four of the ships sank or capsized, with at least 1,450 dead, including the commanding admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. There is evidence for inundation by the tsunami caused by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The islands appear to have been raided frequently by Barbary pirates to enslave residents to support the Barbary slave trade. Isles of Scilly Geography The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago of five inhabited islands and numerous other small rocky islets (around 140 in total) lying 45 km (28 mi) off Land's End. They are all composed of granite rock of early Permian age, an exposed part of the Cornubian batholith. The islands' position produces a place of great contrast—the ameliorating effect of the sea, greatly influenced by the North Atlantic Current, means they rarely have frost or snow, which allows local farmers to grow flowers well ahead of those in mainland Britain. The chief agricultural product is cut flowers, mostly daffodils. Exposure to Atlantic winds also means that spectacular winter gales lash the islands from time to time.

This is reflected in the landscape, most clearly seen on Tresco where the lush sub-tropical Abbey Gardens on the sheltered southern end of the island contrast with the low heather and bare rock sculpted by the wind on the exposed northern end. Natural England has designated the Isles of Scilly as National Character Area 158. As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose sea thrift (Armeria maritima) as the "county flower" of the islands. This table provides an overview of the most important islands: (1) Inhabited until 1855. In 1975 the islands were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The designation covers the entire archipelago, including the uninhabited islands and rocks, and is the smallest such area in the UK. The islands of Annet and Samson have large terneries and the islands are well populated by seals. The Isles of Scilly are the only British haunt of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura suaveolens). The islands are famous among birdwatchers for their ability to attract rare birds from all corners of the globe.

The peak time of year for this is generally in October when it is not unusual for several of the rarest birds in Europe to share this archipelago. One reason for the success of these islands in producing rarities is the extensive coverage these islands get from birdwatchers, but archipelagos are often favoured by rare birds which like to make landfall and eat there before continuing their journeys and often arrive on far flung islands first. Tidal influx The tidal range at the Isles of Scilly is high for an open sea location; the maximum for St Mary's is 5.99 m (19.7'). Additionally, the inter-island waters are mostly shallow, which at "spring tides" allows for dry land walking between several of the islands. Many of the northern islands can be reached from Tresco, including Bryher, Samson and St Martin's (requires very low tides). From St Martin's White Island, Little Ganilly and Great Arthur are reachable. Although the sound between St Mary's and Tresco, The Road, is fairly shallow, it never becomes totally dry – but according to some sources it should be possible to wade at extreme low tides.

Around St Mary's several minor islands become accessible, including Taylor's Island on the west coast and Tolls Island on the east coast. From Saint Agnes, Gugh becomes accessible. Climate The Isles of Scilly has a temperate Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), and has one of the mildest climates in the United Kingdom. The average annual temperature is 11.8 °C (53.2 °F) in comparison to London, where it is 11.6 °C (52.9 °F). Winters are among the warmest in the country due to the moderating effects of the ocean, and despite being on exactly the same latitude as Winnipeg in Canada, snow and frost are extremely rare. Summers are not as warm as on the mainland. The Scilly Isles are one of the sunniest areas in the southwest with on average 6.9 hours per day in June. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on 13 January 1987 and the highest was 27.8 °C (82.0 °F).

The maximum snowfall was 23 cm (9 in) on 12 January 1987. Local government Historically, the Isles of Scilly were administered as one of the hundreds of Cornwall, although the Cornwall quarter sessions had limited jurisdiction there. For judicial purposes, shrievalty purposes, and lieutenancy purposes, the Isles of Scilly are "deemed to form part of the county of Cornwall". The archipelago is part of the Duchy of Cornwall – the duchy owns the freehold of most of the land on the islands and the duke exercises certain formal rights and privileges across the territory, as he does in Cornwall proper. The Local Government Act 1888 allowed the Local Government Board to establish in the Isles of Scilly "councils and other local authorities separate from those of the county of Cornwall"... "for the application to the islands of any act touching local government." Accordingly, in 1890 the Isles of Scilly Rural District Council (the RDC) was formed as a sui generis unitary authority, outside the administrative county of Cornwall. Cornwall County Council provided some services to the Isles, for which the RDC made financial contributions.

The Isles of Scilly Order 1930 granted the Council the "powers, duties and liabilities" of a county council. Section 265 of the Local Government Act of 1972 allowed for the continued existence of the RDC, but renamed as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. This unusual status also means that much administrative law (for example relating to the functions of local authorities, the health service and other public bodies) that applies in the rest of England applies in modified form in the islands. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a separate authority to the Cornwall Council unitary authority, and as such the islands are not part of the administrative county of Cornwall. However the islands are still considered to be part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall. With a total population of just over 2,000, the council represents fewer inhabitants than many English parish councils, and is by far the smallest English unitary council. Some 164 people are employed by the council to provide local services (including water supply and air traffic control). These numbers are significant, in that almost ten per cent of the population is directly linked to the council, as an employee or a councillor.

The Council consists of 21 elected councillors — 13 of which are elected by the ward of St Mary's, and 2 from each of four "off-island" wards (St Martin's, St Agnes, Bryher, and Tresco). The latest elections took place on 2 May 2013; all twenty elected were independents (one seat remained vacant). The Council is headquartered at Town Hall, in Hugh Town, and also performs the administrative functions of the AONB Partnership and the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority. Some aspects of local government are shared with Cornwall, including health, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly together with Cornwall Council form a Local Enterprise Partnership. In July 2015 a devolution deal was announced by the government under which Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly are to create a plan to bring health and social care services together under local control. The Local Enterprise Partnership is also to be bolstered. Isles of Scilly Education Main article: List of schools on the Isles of Scilly Education is available on the islands up to age 16.

There is one school, the Five Islands School, which provides primary schooling at sites on St Agnes, St Mary's, St Martin's and Tresco, and secondary schooling at a site on St Mary's. Secondary students from outside St Mary's live at a school boarding house (Mundesley House) during the week. In 2004, 92.9% of pupils (26 out of 28) achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C and above, compared to the English average of 53.7%. Sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds are entitled to a free sixth form place at a state school or sixth form college on the mainland, and are provided with free flights and a grant towards accommodation. Post eighteen, suitably qualified students attend universities and colleges on the mainland. Historical context Since the mid-eighteenth century the Scillonian economy has relied on trade with the mainland and beyond as a means of sustaining its population. Over the years the nature of this trade has varied, due to wider economic and political factors that have seen the rise and fall of industries such as kelp harvesting, pilotage, smuggling, fishing, shipbuilding and, latterly, flower farming.

In a 1987 study of the Scillionian economy, Neate found that many farms on the islands were struggling to remain profitable due to increasing costs and strong competition from overseas producers, with resulting diversification into tourism. Recent statistics suggest that agriculture on the islands now represents less than 2 percent of all employment. Tourism Today, tourism is estimated to account for 85 per cent of the islands' income. The islands have been successful in attracting this investment due to their special environment, favourable summer climate, relaxed culture, efficient co-ordination of tourism providers and good transport links by sea and air to the mainland, uncommon in scale to similar-sized island communities. The majority of visitors stay on St Mary's, which has a concentration of holiday accommodation and other amenities. Of the other inhabited islands, Tresco is run as a timeshare resort, and is consequently the most obviously tourist-oriented. Bryher and St Martin's are more unspoilt, although each has a hotel and other accommodation. St Agnes has no hotel and is the least-developed of the inhabited islands. The islands' economy is highly dependent on tourism, even by the standards of other island communities.

“The concentration [on] a small number of sectors is typical of most similarly sized UK island communities. However, it is the degree of concentration, which is distinctive along with the overall importance of tourism within the economy as a whole and the very limited manufacturing base that stands out.” Tourism is also a highly seasonal industry owing to its reliance on outdoor recreation, and the lower number of tourists in winter results in a significant constriction of the islands' commercial activities. However, the tourist season benefits from an extended period of business in October when many birdwatchers ("birders") arrive. Ornithology[edit] Because of its position, Scilly is the first landing for many migrant birds, including extreme rarities from North America and Siberia. Scilly is situated far into the Atlantic Ocean, so many American vagrant birds will make first European landfall in the archipelago. Scilly is responsible for many firsts for Britain, and is particularly good at producing vagrant American passerines. If an extremely rare bird turns up, the island will see a significant increase in numbers of birders. This type of birding, chasing after rare birds, is called 'twitching'. The islands are home to ornithologist Will Wagstaff.

Employment The predominance of tourism means that "tourism is by far the main sector throughout each of the individual islands, in terms of employment... [and] this is much greater than other remote and rural areas in the United Kingdom”. Tourism accounts for approximately 63 per cent of all employment. Businesses dependent on tourism, with the exception of a few hotels, tend to be small enterprises typically employing fewer than four people; many of these are family run, suggesting an entrepreneurial culture among the local population. However, much of the work generated by this, with the exception of management, is low skilled and thus poorly paid, especially for those involved in cleaning, catering and retail. Because of the seasonality of tourism, many jobs on the islands are seasonal and part-time, so work cannot be guaranteed throughout the year. Some islanders take up other temporary jobs ‘out of season’ to compensate for this. Due to a lack of local casual labour at peak holiday times, many of the larger employers accommodate guest workers, who come to the islands for the summer to have a ‘working holiday’.

People Main articles: Cornish people and English people According to the 2001 UK census, 97% of the population of the islands are white British, with nearly 93% of the inhabitants born in the islands, in mainland Cornwall or elsewhere in England. Since EU enlargement in 2004, a number of eastern Europeans have moved to the island, joining the Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans who traditionally made up most of the islands' overseas workers. By 2005, their numbers were estimated at nearly 100 out of a total population of just over 2,000. This has been called 'the land that crime forgot'. Sport One continuing legacy of the isles' past is gig racing, wherein fast rowing boats ("gigs") with crews of six (or in one case, seven) race between the main islands. Gig racing has been said to derive from the race to collect salvage from shipwrecks on the rocks around Scilly, but the race was actually to deliver a pilot onto incoming vessels, to guide them through the hazardous reefs and shallows. (The boats are correctly termed "pilot gigs").

The World Pilot Gig Championships are held annually over the May Day bank holiday weekend. The event originally involved crews from the Islands and a few crews from Cornwall, but in the intervening years the number of gigs attending has increased, with crews coming from all over the South-West and further afield. The Isles of Scilly feature what is reportedly the smallest football league in the world, the Isles of Scilly Football League. The league's two clubs, Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners, play each other seventeen times each season and compete for two cups and for the league title. The league was a launching pad for the Adidas "Dream Big" Campaign in which a number of famous professional footballers (including David Beckham) arrive on the island to coach the local children's side. The two share a ground, Garrison Field, but travel to the mainland for part of the year to play other non-professional clubs. In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of the Isles of Scilly were the most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 32% of the population participate at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes or more.

There is a golf club with a 9-hole course (each with two tees) situated on the island of St Mary's, near Porthloo and Telegraph. The club was founded in 1904 and is open to visitors. Media The islands are served by a radio and television transmitter at Telegraph, on St Mary's, which is a relay of the main transmitter at Redruth (Cornwall) and broadcasts BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and BBC Radio Cornwall and the range of Freeview television and BBC radio channels known as 'Freeview Light'. Radio Scilly, a community radio station, was launched in September 2007. There is no local newspaper; Scilly Now & Then is a free community magazine produced 8 times a year and is available to mainland subscribers while The Scillonian is published twice yearly and reports matters of local interest. Scilly Today is a news and information website produced by Radio Scilly that sources and publishes around five Scilly stories each weekday. There is an active news forum on scillytoday.com (run in association with Radio Scilly). Internet access is available on all the inhabited islands; a maximum ADSL speed of 8Mbit/s is available.

The Isles of Scilly were featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of South West England. Since 2007 the islands have featured in the BBC series An Island Parish, following various real-life stories and featuring in particular the newly appointed Chaplain to the Isles of Scilly. A 12-part series was filmed in 2007 and debuted on BBC2 in January 2008. This has since been followed by further series. ^ a b "Isles of Scilly ethnic groups". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 December 2012. ^ Good Stuff IT Services. "- UK Census Data 2011". UK Census Data. Retrieved 9 June 2015. ^ 'The Fortunate Islands' by R.L. Bowley ^ 'The Drowned Landscape' by Charles Thomas. ^ a b Thorgrim. "Nornour". Retrieved 18 November 2009. ^ Dudley, Dorothy.

"Excavations on Nor'Nour in the Isles of Scilly, 1962-6", in The Archaeological Journal, CXXIV, 1967 (includes the description of over 250 Roman fibulae found at the site) ^ a b Dudley, Dorothy. "Excavations on Nor'Nour in the Isles of Scilly, 1962-6", in The Archaeological Journal, CXXIV, 1967 ^ "Scilly’s Unique Inter Island Walk Sets Off This Morning". Scilly Today. Retrieved 9 June 2015. ^ Weatherhill, Craig (2007) Cornish Placenames and Language. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure ^ "Priscillianus and Priscillianism". Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of Sixth Century. Retrieved 11 December 2010. ^ a b c Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint).

ISBN 0-901824-25-9 ^ Blackford, Oscar (1925). The Cornish Church Guide. p.194. ^ "Petitioners: Abbot and convent of Tavistock. Addressees: King and council.". The National Archives. Retrieved 2014-11-25. ^ Banerjee et al. 2001., D. "Scilly Isles, UK: optical dating of a possible tsunami deposit from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake". Quaternary Science Reviews 1 December 2001 20 (5–9,): 715–718. Retrieved 30 March 2015. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2015), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth. ^ NCA 158: Isles of Scilly Key Facts & Data at Accessed on 8 Sep 2013 ^ "County flower of Isles of Scilly". Plantlife International– The Wild Plant Conservation Charity.

Retrieved 7 April 2006. ^ "Climatological Normals of St. Mary's Heliport 1981-2010". Climatological Information for United Kingdom and Ireland. Met Office]. Retrieved 28 December 2014. ^ ^ "St Mary's Heliport Climatic Averages 1981-2010". Met Office. December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2012. ^ ^ Hiemstra, et al. 2006, John F. "New evidence for a grounded Irish Sea glaciation of the Isles of Scilly, UK". Quaternary Science Reviews. February 2006 25 (3-4): 299–309. Retrieved 29 March 2015. ^ Scourse 1991, J.D. "Late Pleistocene Stratigraphy and Palaeobotany of the Isles of Scilly". Retrieved 29 March 2015.

^ Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c.70) section 216(2) ^ "Around the Duchy - Isles of Scilly". Duchy of Cornwall official site. Retrieved 5 October 2012. ^ "Isles of Scilly Order 1930" (PDF). The National Archives. ^ "Isles of Scilly Cornwall through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2007. ^ "Isles of Scilly RD Cornwall through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2007. ^ Examples include the Health and Social Care Act 2003, section 198 and the Environment Act 1995, section 117. ^ "Council of the Isles of Scilly Corporate Assessment December 2002" (PDF). Audit Commission. Retrieved 21 January 2007. ^ Council of the Isles of Scilly Elections ^ "Welcome to the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)". Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Retrieved 9 June 2015. ^ Isles of Scilly IFCA ^ "Cornwall devolution: First county with new powers". BBC News. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 27 August 2015. ^ a b c "Isles of Scilly (United Kingdom)". fotw.net. Retrieved 16 January 2007. ^ "How Do You Get A Scillonian Cross". Scilly Archive. Retrieved 16 January 2007. ^ "Cornwall (United Kingdom)". fotw.net. Retrieved 16 January 2007. ^ Scilly Today Busy week for Cornwall Air Ambulance ^ School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables 2004 Department for Education and Skills; retrieved 31 July 2010. ^ Gibson, F, My Scillionian Home...

its past, its present, its future, St Ives, 1980 ^ a b c d Isles of Scilly Integrated Area Plan 2001–2004, Isles of Scilly Partnership 2001 ^ Neate, S, The role of tourism in sustaining farm structures and communities on the Isles of Scilly in M Bouquet and M Winter (eds) Who From Their Labours Rest? Conflict and practice in rural tourism Aldershot, 1987 ^ a b Isles of Scilly Local Plan: A 2020 Vision, Council of the Isles of Scilly, 2004 ^ Isles of Scilly 2004, imagine..., Isles of Scilly Tourist Board, 2004 ^ J.Urry, The Tourist Gaze (2nd edition), London, 2002 ^ "Travel: Living in a world of their own: On the shortest day of the year, Simon Calder took the high road to Shetland and Frank Barrett took the low road to the Scillies, as Britain's extremities made ready for Christmas". The Independent (UK). 24 December 1993.

^ Motor Vehicles (tests) Regulations 1981 (SI 1981/1694) ^ "A Sustainable Energy Strategy for the Isles of Scilly" (PDF). Council of the Isles of Scilly. November 2007. pp.13, 21. Retrieved 21 August 2010. ^ "Travel Information". ScillyOnLine. Retrieved 10 May 2012. ^ "Skybus Timetables". Skybus. Retrieved 8 September 2014. ^ "Isles of Scilly Travel– Travel by sea". Isles of Scilly Travel. Retrieved 17 January 2007. ^ Mitchel, Sandy. Duchy of Cornwall– Prince Charles' Backyard– Prince Charles– Not Your Typical Radical. National Geographic Magazine. May 2006:96–115. Map ref 104. Map source Duchy of Cornwall Property Services Department Sandy Mitchell. "Prince Charles not your typical radical". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 26 September 2010. ^ "Isles of Scilly". Duchy of Cornwall.

Retrieved 4 November 2013. ^ Martin D, 'Heaven and Hell', in Inside Housing, 31 October 2004 ^ Sub Regional Housing Markets in the South West, South West Housing Board, 2004 ^ a b S. Fleming et al., “In from the cold” A report on Cornwall’s Affordable Housing Crisis, Liberal Democrats, Penzance, 2003 ^ The Cornishman, Islanders in dispute with Duchy over housing policy, 19 August 2004 ^ "Isles of Scilly - Country of Birth". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 December 2012. ^ "East Europeans in the Isles of Scilly". The Guardian. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2012. ^ Mawby, R.I. "The Land that Crime Forgot? Auditing the Isles of Scilly". Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal (2002) 4: 39–53. Retrieved 29 March 2015. ^ Rick Persich, Chairman World Pilot Gigs Championships Committee.

"World Pilot Gig Championships– Isles of Scilly". Retrieved 26 September 2010. ^ Beth Hilton (30 October 2007). "Beckham and Gerrard make surprise visit". Scilly News» Blog Archive». Retrieved 26 September 2010. ^ "Active People Survey– national factsheet appendix (Microsoft Excel)". Sport England. Retrieved 16 January 2007. ^ Isles of Scilly Golf Club. "Isles of Scilly - Home". Retrieved 9 June 2015. ^ "ukfreetv-Full-Freeview vs Freeview Light: map". ^ "An Island Parish". BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2007. Heritage, Conservation & Environment | Council of the ISLES OF SCILLY Heritage, Conservation & Environment Heritage, Conservation & Environment Heritage, Conservation & Environment On the Isles of Scilly there are a high concentration of buildings, monuments and archaeological artefacts of historical importance. Along with many designations of natural importance, there are a lot of considerations to be made for the interaction, conservation and enhancement of these nationally significant features.

The following sections on this page provide more detail: For further advice on matters of Conservation and Listed Buildings including any application process please contact: Lisa Walton Senior Officer: Planning and Development Management Council of the Isles of Scilly Town Hall Conservation In 1975 the whole of the Isles of Scilly was designated as a Conservation Area making it the only local authority area covered entirely by a single designation. This recognises the integration of the buildings and landscape in Scilly and how man has shaped the land over a long period. The Council has a duty to preserve and enhance the character of the Conservation Area and to protect features of special architectural or historic interest. Responsibility for conservation lies with the Planning Department of the Council of the Isles of Scilly. This year the designation will be 40 years old. We are therefore seeking to produce a Conservation Area Character Statement to explain the importance of the designation, what it means for the islands’ inhabitants and businesses and what the designation has achieved in the last 40 years. Public consultation on this document will commence shortly. This document and details of how to make comments will be published on these pages during 2015. What is a Conservation Area?

For general information on Conservation Areas you can view the Historic England web pages here . The concept of Conservation Areas came out of the Civic Amenities Act 1967. Whilst the original legislation has been superseded, conservation area designation essentially controls the demolition of unlisted buildings and works to trees, restricts permitted development rights on dwellings and tightens regulations on advertisements. The Council of the Isles of Scilly, as the Local Planning Authority (LPA), has a statutory duty under Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, to identify those areas that have ‘Special Architectural or Historic Character’ that it wishes to preserve or enhance and to designate them as Conservation Areas. In 1975, under the 1967 Civic Amenities Act, the Council took the decision, following public consultation, to designate the entirety of the islands as a Conservation Area. This recognised the integration of the buildings and landscapes in Scilly and how its inhabitants have shaped the land over a long period.

Planning powers in conservation areas Sections 71 and 72 of the above act requires that LPAs pay special attention, when carrying out their planning functions, to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a conservation area. This means that they must take account of this in the adoption of planning and council policies, planning applications, enforcement, controls relating to trees, advertisements, properties in need of maintenance and in exercising their highway powers. Duties and Implications following designation DEMOLITION - Planning Permission is required for the demolition of any unlisted building larger than 115 cubic metres or the removal of any gate, wall or other means of enclosure which is less than 1 metre in height, where it abuts the highway, or 2 metres in height elsewhere. Guidance on this can be found on the Planning Portal . UNAUTHORISED WORKS – The demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area without planning permission is a CRIMINAL OFFENCE. It is also an offence to undertake demolition for which planning permission has been granted without complying with a condition attached to the consent. While Magistrates Court can hear such prosecutions, the more serious offences can be referred to the Crown Court.

Judiciary take such matters extremely seriously fining owners tens of thousands of pounds plus costs for persons found to have demolished structures and buildings in conservation areas without consent. TREES - Notice must be given to the LPA before works are carried out to any tree in the conservation area. It is also an OFFENCE to carry out works to a tree in a conservation area without notifying the LPA or to carry out the works where consent has been refused. The Offence can be tried by a Magistrates Court or in a Crown Court and, as with the demolition of an unlisted building, the court will take into account any financial gain that as accrued or is likely to accrue as a result of the offence. Works to trees includes pruning, crown lifting/reductions/thinning and tree felling. You must give the Council 6 weeks’ notice of such works. The Conservation Area designation automatically confers blanket protection to every tree within its parameters. A tree in this instance is defined as anything with a stem diameter over 75mm when measured at a height of 1.5 metres above the ground. This does not apply to hedges in the Conservation Area.

A person wishing to carry out works to a tree (as defined above) must send the LPA a notice of his or her intention to do so. This is referred to as a Section 211 Notice , and its purpose is to allow the LPA to evaluate the trees and respond, if necessary, with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) to prevent the work or control the extent of the works. Section 211 Notices can be submitted in writing but it is recommended that you use the Planning Portal online application form . Guidance on carry out works to trees in a conservation area can be found on the Planning Portal . PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT - Certain works that can be carried out to private residential properties without planning permission (known as permitted development rights) are somewhat reduced. Those permitted development rights affected are listed in this document . Full details on permitted development rights are set out in the General Permitted Development Order. You can be find links to this on the Planning Portal . UPKEEP OF THE AREA - The provisions for ensuring the repair or upkeep of listed buildings can be applied to conservation area buildings (S.48-54).

There are a range of measures that the LPA can use when historic buildings or land in a conservation area has fallen into a poor state of repair or is being deliberately neglected. Urgent Works Notices (S.54) can secure emergency or immediate repairs to those buildings or parts of buildings which are unoccupied. If the building is unlisted then agreement of the Secretary of State is required. A Repairs Notice (S.48) can only be served on a listed building and can secure much more extensive repairs, but the LPA must be prepared to exercise powers of compulsory purchase should the owner not co-operate. Under its general planning powers the LPA can serve a Section 215 Notice (Town and Country Planning Act 1990) on the owner or occupier where the building or land is adversely affecting the amenity of the area and can require them to clean up the building or site. ADVERTISEMENTS – Permitted development for advertisements are also somewhat reduced. The character of the Conservation Area can be seriously eroded through the installation of inappropriate signs.

Under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations2007 the sizes of signs that can be erected under Advertisement Consent Permitted Development is reduced. Full details about Advertisement Consent can be found in the Outdoor advertisement and signs: A Guide for Advertisers . COUNCIL DUTIES - The LPA is under a general duty to ensure the preservation or enhancement of conservation areas and to prepare proposals to that end. (S.71 + 72). Designating a conservation area should not be seen as an end in itself: we live in a changing world and for the historic environment to survive and continue to be cherished it needs to be positively managed. National planning policy and advice from and English Heritage is placing greater emphasis on the need to take a holistic and proactive approach to managing conservation areas and making full use of planning powers. Clearly an understanding of a conservation area’s qualities and issues is key to developing the most suitable management tools and policies, along with the need to foster public and political support and to secure a resource commitment. For advice on any aspect raised above please contact the Planning Department for which details are above.

Archaeology The archaeology of Scilly is of international importance with evidence on land and below the present high water mark indicating that Scilly has been settled for at least four thousand years. There are 238 Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Many of these scheduled sites cover extensive areas on the islands, containing over 900 individual monuments, representing different periods. There are concentrations of prehistoric ritual and burial monuments, field systems and houses, cist grave cemeteries and Romano-British settlements and shrines. Over the last four hundred years a series of military installations has developed from Tudor forts and castles, Civil War batteries, 18th century and late 19th century defences, to World War II pillboxes and airfield installations. Lighthouses and other evidence of the maritime heritage of the islands can be found, while the wrecks of over 700 ships point to an astounding marine archaeological resource. Listed Buildings There are 129 listed buildings in Scilly ranging from the majority which are Grade II listed traditional dwellings and farm buildings to the Elizabethan Star Castle, one of the four Grade I listed buildings.

With a higher than average proportion of Grade I and II*, and over 230 Scheduled Ancient Monuments the Isles of Scilly has the highest density per hectare of any English authority. All development affecting the character or appearance of a listed building requires an application for listed building consent to be made to the Planning Department. If you own a listed building would like to find out more information on heritage buildings and the responsibilities of their owners, you can visit the English Heritage website or contact the Planning Department. English Heritage also have a searchable map which you can use to find listed buildings, scheduled monuments and other heritage sites on the Isles of Scilly or across the UK. A Heritage and Cultural Strategy for the Isles of Scilly was created in 2004 to formulate local cultural strategies and although dated it does provide a useful insight into the unique heritage and cultural identity of the islands. It had five primary objectives: to quantify the essential qualities that form the unique heritage and cultural identity of the islands to provide a strategic framework within which to develop action programmes to assist in the prioritising of options for the application of resources to provide policy objectives against which to measure progress in the delivery service across the heritage and culture sectors.

to assist the local community to identify with the rich heritage and traditions of Scilly and engender a sense of ownership and participation in the policy making process Scilly Historic Environment Research Framework (SHERF) SHERF is a project being undertaken by those with an interest in research into the historic environment of the Isles of Scilly. These include academics, local authority archaeologists and others. The project is part-funded by English Heritage with contributions from the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the Isles of Scilly AONB Partnership and the Duchy of Cornwall. The aim of this project is to define a research framework for the historic environment of the Isles of Scilly. This will be achieved by assessing our current understanding of Scilly's past, by identifying gaps in our knowledge and by promoting priorities for future research. The project will seek to involve the local and wider research community in this process so that there is a sense of community ownership of the research framework. The production of the research framework will be achieved in three stages as set out in 'Frameworks for our Past' (English Heritage 1996): Resource Assessment, Research Agenda and Research Strategy. The final Resource Assessment and Research Agenda reports are presented here.

It is envisaged that the Research Strategy will be a follow-on project resulting in a separate report. Updates on its future progress will be posted on this page. Natural Environment The Isles of Scilly contains 26 Sites of Scientific Special Interest (SSSI's), RAMSARS for seabirds and their terrestrial habitats (globally protected wetlands), wholly designated as a Special Area of Conservation and also Heritage Coast, Special Protection Area for certain species of bird, home to many species of flora and fauna, some of which are found nowhere else in the UK (for example, the Scilly shrew and the Scilly bee), important species of flora and fauna, an important staging post for migrating birds and the islands are designated as a European Marine Site. More information can be found by following the links below to the bodies and organisations who work hard to protect and enhance the islands special designations and features The AONB Designation Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) were created by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and, along with National Parks, they represent the finest examples of countryside in England and Wales. The Isles of Scilly were designated an AONB in 1975.

The Isles of Scilly are the smallest AONB designation in the UK. However, the Islands possess a diversity of scenery that belies their small scale. Panoramas of sea and sky are punctuated by lenses of low-lying land. The archipelago combines rugged granite cliffs and headlands, sparkling sandy bays, hidden coves shifting dunes and saline lagoons. Over 6,000 years of human occupation has led to the development of the lowland heath, enclosed pasture, hedged bulb-strips, small harbours' and quays, and scattered rural settlement punctuated by tiny townships. The AONB designation recognises that people are an important part of the landscape, ensuring that its resources are protected, managed and capable of evolving in a sustainable way. Indeed landscape conservation and economic prosperity are inseparably tied in Scilly.

Question: The Scilly Isles are under the authority of which English county?
Answer: Cornwall