Herm
69371
225997596
2008-07-16T11:16:18Z
212.9.28.123
{{Infobox Country
|native_name = Herm
|common_name = Herm
|image_flag = Flag of Herm.svg
|image_coat = Herm coa.gif
|image_map = LocationGuernsey.png
|national_motto = none
|national_anthem = ''[[Sarnia Cherie]]'' ([[Guernsey]])
|official_languages = [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]]
|capital =
|latd=49 |latm=28 |latNS=N |longd=2 |longm=27 |longEW=W
|largest_city =
|government_type = Dependency of [[Guernsey]]
|leader_title1 = Chief of state
|leader_name1 = [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II, Duke of Normandy]]
|leader_title2 = [[Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey|Lieutenant Governor]]
|leader_name2 = Sir [[Fabian Malbon]]
|leader_title3 = [[List of tenants of Herm|Tenants]]
|leader_name3 = Adrian and Pennie Wood Heyworth
|sovereignty_type =
|sovereignty_note = British [[crown dependency]]
|established_event1 =
|established_date1 =
|established_event2 =
|established_date2 =
|area_rank =
|area_magnitude = 1 E8
|area_km2 = 2
|area_sq_mi = 0.77
|percent_water = negligible
|population_estimate =
|population_estimate_rank =
|population_estimate_year =
|population_census = 60
|population_census_year = 2002
|population_density_km2 = 30
|population_density_sq_mi = 77.7
|population_density_rank =
|GDP_PPP =
|GDP_PPP_rank =
|GDP_PPP_year =
|GDP_PPP_per_capita =
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
|HDI = n/a
|HDI_rank = n/a
|HDI_year = n/a
|HDI_category = n/a
|currency = [[Pound sterling]]<sup>1</sup>
|currency_code = GBP
|country_code =
|time_zone = [[GMT]]
|utc_offset = +0
|time_zone_DST = [[WEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +1
|cctld = [[.gg]] ([[Guernsey]])
|calling_code =
|footnote1 = The States of Guernsey, of which Herm is a dependency, issue their own [[pound sterling|sterling]] coins and banknotes (see ''[[Guernsey pound]]'').
}}
{{this|the Channel Island called Herm}}
'''Herm''' is the smallest of the [[Channel Islands]] that is open to the public. [[Auto-free zone|Cars are banned]] from the small [[island]] just like its Channel Island neighbour, [[Sark]]. Unlike Sark, [[bicycle]]s are banned too. However, Herm does allow [[All-terrain vehicle|quad bike]]s and [[tractor]]s for the locals. The sandy white beaches make Herm a walker's paradise.
Herm won the 2002 [[Britain in Bloom]] competition in the 'Small Coastal Resort' category, despite not being part of the [[United Kingdom|UK]] (it is in the Bailliwick of [[Guernsey]]).
==History==
[[Image:Hermdunord.jpg|left|thumb|The common in the north of the island. Standing stones can be seen on the grass, and [[Sark]] is in the background.]]
===Ancient history===
Herm was occupied in prehistoric times; the remains of [[Neolithic]] [[chamber tomb]]s have been found on the island.
===Middle Ages===
The first records of Herm's inhabitants in historic times are from the [[6th century|sixth century]], when the island became a centre of [[Monasticism|monastic activity]]; the name 'Herm' supposedly derives from [[hermit]]s who settled there (although an alternative interpretation derives ''Herm'' from [[Old Norse language|Norse]] ''erm'' referring to an arm-like appearance of the island). However, the monks suffered from the inclement [[Atlantic]]; in 709, a storm washed away the strip of land which connected the island with the small uninhabited island of [[Jethou]].
The most important moment in Herm's political history was 933, when the [[Channel Islands]] were annexed to the [[Duchy of Normandy]] (they remain a British [[Crown dependency]] since the division of [[Normandy]] in 1204). After the annexation, Herm gradually lost its monastic inhabitants, and between 1570 and 1737 it was used as a hunting ground by the governors of Guernsey.
===19th century to 1940===
[[Image:Herm, Sark and Jethou.jpg|left|thumb|An aerial shot showing Herm in the centre with [[Jethou]] next to it, [[Sark]] in the Background and [[Guernsey]] in the foreground.]]
In the [[19th century|nineteenth century]], industry arrived in Herm with the establishment of granite quarries to serve the large scale military fortifications undertaken in the islands. The island was let to tenants by the Crown and was generally off-limits to visitors. When [[Evelyn Princess Blücher|Prince Blücher]] was tenant before the [[World War I|First World War]], he introduced a colony of [[Wallaby|wallabies]] to the island. None now survive.
Between 1920 and 1923, the noted Scottish writer and founder of the [[Scottish National Party]] [[Compton Mackenzie]] was tenant of the island; among his best known works are ''[[The Monarch of the Glen]]'' and ''[[Whisky Galore]]''.
===World War II===
[[Image:Herm Cottage.JPG|thumb|Fisherman's Cottage on Herm]]
On 25 July 1940, a few weeks after the arrival of German troops in Guernsey and Jersey, nine German soldiers landed on the island in a commandeered motor boat to shoot a propaganda film. They went back to Guernsey the same day. Herm's sandy beaches were soon used for practising landings from barges, in preparation for the invasion of England, but otherwise the island saw little of the Germans beyond officers making trips to shoot rabbits. In a British nighttime raid on the island in February 1943, commandos wandered around the island without finding any signs of life at all, let alone enemy troops. Herm was spared the huge concrete blockhouses, anti-tank walls and observation towers that were to disfigure the larger islands.
===1945 to the present day===
After the war, the [[States of Guernsey]] decided to buy Herm from the Crown in order that its pleasant atmosphere could be enjoyed by Guernsey residents. The States now rent the island to a tenant, who is expected to maintain the island for the benefit of its visitors.
The most influential tenant has been Major Peter Wood, who looked after the island from 1949 to 1980 when the current tenants, Adrian and Pennie Wood Heyworth, took over. Major Peter Wood died in 1998.
It was reported by BBC News and ITV Channel Television on 17 May 2008 that the current tenants have put the remaining 40 years of their lease up for sale, with an asking price of £15,000,000. Von Essen Hotels have since put in an offer for the asking price, and they hope to develop The White House Hotel to have things such as a luxury spa. It has, at present, no telephones, no televisions.
==Language==
Like the rest of the Channel Islands, Herm was formerly officially administered solely in the [[French language]]. It is presumed that, as in neighbouring islands, the population would have spoken a variety of [[Norman language]], but no documentary evidence exists as to any distinctive dialectal features particular to the [[vernacular]] of Herm. The [[Norman language]] is extinct in Herm now. It was eroded mainly by neglect, and also settlers from [[England]]. However, a number of French/Norman placenames remain.
[[Image:Herm Coast Path.JPG|thumb|left|Western Coast Path on Herm]]
===Placenames===
The ''Herm Island'' map, published by the tenant of Herm says -
:"The origins of many of the place names in the island are obscure, as indeed is the name 'Herm' itself"
Over the years, there has been a steady anglicisation of the island's nomenclature, and this erosion still occurs to a minor extent, in the replacement of authentic names, with new ones e.g. the northern tip of the island is properly called "La Pointe du gentilhomme" but is often referred to as "Alderney Point".
Fieldnames are generally in English, with the following exceptions - "Monku", "Belvoir", and "Bon Jour".
Remnants of [[Old Norse]] are scanty, but examples would be the second element of ''Pointe Sauzebourge'' on the south west tip of the island, while the rock of "Le Plat Houmet" contains the ''[[-hou|Houmet]]'' (''holmr'') with a Norman [[diminutive]].
"Hermetier", a tidal islet just offshore, may be a corruption of the Norman for "Land of Herm".
{{-}}
==Politics==
Herm is a dependency of [[Guernsey]], and is in fact owned by the [[States of Guernsey]], being rented out to various tenants (see [[List of tenants of Herm]]).
[[Image:Guernsey-Herm.png|thumb|Map of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.]]
== Geography ==
Herm is only 1½ miles long and less than half a mile wide. It is orientated so that its greatest length runs north-south. The northern half of the coastline is surrounded by sandy beaches, the southern half is rocky.
Shell Beach and Belvoir Bay are two of the major tourist attractions.
The isle of [[Jethou]] is just to the south. It is said that in 709 a storm washed away the strip of land which connected the island with Herm.<ref>[http://www.islandlife.org/Herm.htm Herm Home Page<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
To the west is the [[Channel (geography)|channel]] [[Little Roussel]] (Petit Ruau) between it and [[Guernsey]], and the [[Big Roussel]] (Grand Ruau) to the east, between it and [[Sark]].
== Economy ==
Tourism is Herm's main source of income, with the majority of tourists arriving on one of the Trident catamaran ferries (''Herm Trident V'' and ''Herm Trident VI'') operated by the [[Trident Charter Company]]. On some busy days, the Herm Clipper is also called into service.
Money is also made from vegetable growing, livestock and occasionally issuing its own stamps, and the island's status as a tax haven.
<!--
== Demographics ==
The local demography tends towards the elderly, with few 18-30 olds living in the island at any given time. However during the summer months, workers come over to be employed in the beach kiosks or the White House hotel or the Mermaid Tavern.
== Culture ==
<TABLE border="1" align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
<CAPTION><font size="+1">'''Holidays'''</font></caption>
<TR><TH style="background:#efefef;">Date</TH><TH style="background:#efefef;">English Name</TH><TH style="background:#efefef;">Local Name</TH><TH style="background:#efefef;">Remarks</TH></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
-->
== See also ==
* [[List of car-free places]]
== References ==
<references/>
==External links==
* [http://www.herm-island.com/home.aspx Official website of Herm]
* [http://www.islandlife.org/Herm.htm Herm, Channel Island website]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19981012/ai_n14193449 Major Peter Wood] - The Independent 'obit'
<br/>{{Channel Islands|title_style=background:#eee;}}
{{coor title dm|49|28|N|2|27|W|type:isle}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Herm| ]]
[[Category:Geography of the Channel Islands]]
[[Category:Private islands]]
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[[he:הרם]]
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[[ja:ハーム島]]
[[pl:Herm (Wyspy Normandzkie)]]
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[[ru:Херм]]
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