The name Brecqhou derives from the Old Norsebrekka and holmr. It was formerly known as "Merchant's Island". The spellings Brechou, Brehou, Brehoe appear on old maps.
Geography
A mere islet, Brecqhou has a surface area of just. The island is separated from Sark by an extremely narrow sound which, according to legend, has only once been traversed by boat in a high tide. In reality it is traversed frequently by yachts during each summer and by fishing boats year round and even forms a part of the route taken by occasional powerboating events in the islands.
Feudal relationship with Sark
In Sark, the wordtenant is used, and often pronounced, as in French in the sense of feudal landholder rather than the common English meaning of lessee. The landholdings of Sark are held by 40 tenants representing the parcels of the 40 families who colonised Sark. As explained on the Sark government website: "There is no true freehold, all land being held on perpetual lease from the Seigneur, and the 40 properties into which the Island is divided can only pass by strict rules of inheritance or by sale." The relevance of the seigneurial privileges and duties that distinguish feudal from civil landowning has decreased as most of the duties relate to agriculture and defence. Since 1929, the island has been connected to the title of the tenement La Moinerie de Haut, one of the 40 tenements whose owner had to keep a gun for the defence of the fief and, until forfeit in 2008, had a seat in the Chief Pleas. Originally, La Moinerie de Haut, named after the medieval monastery whose site is close to it, was a parcel of land in north west Sark that was, at that time, owned by the Seigneur himself. When Sibyl Hathaway sold the island of Brecqhou to Angelo Clarke in 1929, she transferred that seat in the Chief Pleas to unrepresented Brecqhou. This was scant loss for her, as she owned more than one tenement and every member of the Chief Pleas was entitled to only one vote. Since 1993 the tenement of Brecqhou has been owned by the Barclay brothers, the co-owners of The Daily Telegraph newspaper and former co-owners of The Scotsman. The brothers bought the island for £2.3 million in September 1993. Under the Reform Law 1951, the tenant is David Barclay. Since then they have had intermittent legal disputes with the government of Sark and have expressed a desire to make Brecqhou politically independent. They drive cars on the island and have a helicopter, both of which are banned under Sark law.
Customary and express written rule of Sark over Brecqhou may be evidenced in retention of all seigneurial rights per the sale instrument from the Dame of Sark, Hathaway, to Clarke in 1929.
According to the Barclays this retention is invalid as Brecqhou may not have been part of the fief of Sark. They cite facts such as that the letters patent establishing the fief do not mention the smaller island. While the Seigneur in long succession came to own Brecqhou, they cite practices and acts to suggest Brecqhou may not have been merged into the fief of Sark. Therefore the claim runs that the Seigneur could not legally hold the privileges valid elsewhere such as might survive sale, whatever its terms.
This conflict caused a lawsuit and the founding in 2006 of a Brecqhou liaison sub-committee of Sark's Chief Pleas.
The former tenant, Leonard Joseph Matchan, had devised a personal flag. Although frequently considered the island flag, this was only a personal flag, and is not in use any more. The flag has since been adapted to equate with the current tenants, the Barclay Brothers. The current flag of Brecqhou remains in same format as the previous flag, but replacing the Matchan coat of arms with the twin's coats of arms in the bottom right. Leonard Joseph Matchan had issued stamps in 1969. Matchan occupied Brecqhou until his death on 6 October 1987. The current tenants have issued postage stamps annually since 1999.
Public visits
In 2012, it was reported that the island is open to the public, by prior arrangement.
