The Ecrehos are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles north-east of Jersey, and eight miles from France. They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St. Martin.
Etymology
The name 'Ecrehos' is Norse in origin. "Esker" as in Skerry meaning a stony bank and 'Hou', the toponym found also in Jethou, Lihou, Brecqhou, Burhou and other islets, derives from holm, meaning island. The first part of the name appears to be traced back to the Norse word sker, meaning reef. The Ecrehos are actually, geologically, part of the same island group as Les Dirouilles and Les Pierres de Lecq .
Islets
The most significant islets in the group are:
Maîtr'Île
La Marmotchiéthe
Lé Bliantch'Île ;
others include:
Les D'mies
La Grand' Naithe
L'Etchièrviéthe
Lé Fou
La Froutchie
All but the three largest are submerged at high tide. There are no permanent residents on the islands and there is no fresh water there. Due to erosion, they are now much smaller than they may have been within historic times. Maîtr'Île, the largest of the islets, is about 300 metres long. There is a small number of fishermen's huts, some used as holiday residences, on the largest islets, and one official building, a customs house, on La Marmotchiéthe.
In 1203, shortly before the division of Normandy in 1204, John, Duke of Normandy granted the Ecrehos to the :fr:Abbaye_du_Val-Richer|Abbey of Val-Richer that they might build a church there. The chapel measured in width and in length; the priory accommodation for the monks formed an extension to the chapel. In 1309 it was reported that a prior was living in the Ecrehos with one monk and a servant; a navigation light was lit every night. In 1413 alien priories were suppressed, and the monks returned to Val-Richer. Their church and priory on La Maîtr'Île fell into ruins.
Uses
In the 17th century the Ecrehos were used by smugglers. It was recorded that the main smuggled goods in the 1690s through the Ecrehos was lead and gunpowder destined for St Malô. In order to help control voting in Jersey, it was not unknown for citizens to find themselves taken and stranded on the Islands until after voting had taken place.
Long-term residents
Though they are only inhabited sporadically by holidaymakers and fishermen, in the past there have been more permanent residents on the Ecrehos due to more abundant vegetation. Two eccentrics who lived on the Ecrehos for a long time proclaimed themselves to be Le Roi des Écréhous and claimed that sovereignty over the islands belonged to them. Philippe Pinel lived on Bliantch'Île from 1848 to 1898 and exchanged gifts with Queen Victoria. In the 1960s and 1970s Alphonse Le Gastelois found refuge in the islands from unfounded public suspicion of being the Beast of Jersey.
Resolution of disputed status
In the 19th and early 20th centuries there were several occasions on which nominal control was displayed – e.g. flags and buoys, and there were several occasions on which the British government indicated to the French government that it wished to settle the matter. In 1950 France took the United Kingdom to the International Court of Justice for discussions to decide to which country the Minquiers and Ecrehos belonged. The French fished in the waters, but Jersey exercised various administrative rights. In the Minquiers and Ecrehos case, the ICJ considered the historical evidence, and in its Judgment of 17 November 1953 awarded the islands to Jersey.
In 2005, the States of Jersey designated it as an area under the Ramsar convention, signifying it was a wetland of international importance and giving it an enhanced status and recognition. A management plan for the area has yet to be published. There was a public consultation in 2010 into Jersey's management of Ramsar areas but the results were not made public.
Pilotage and sailing
Entrance to the islands can be difficult. However, it is possible to visit at all states of tide with the main entrance from the southwest.
