Ship Inn, Piel Island will open for
Summer 2013 the last weekend in March (Easter Weekend)
The pub and ferry will commence the 2013 season at Easter until
the end of October subject to weather conditions.
How to reach Piel Island
By Ferry from Roa Island. Two ferries operate in the
summertime. Contact Steve Chattaway on 07516453784 or e
mail shipinn@pielisland.co.uk
A second ferry is operated by John Cleasby telephone
07798794550.
There is no scheduled ferry service in the Winter Months.
Visitors should contact Steve Chattaway. Any access will be
subject to weather.
Ferries cannot operate in high winds. Please check before
you travel.
There is limited parking at Roa island with the small Foulney
Nature Reserve car park. Visitors are asked to park
responsibly ensuring access for the RNLI crew and local
residents. The island is served by the No. 11 bus
operated by Blueworks (except Sundays and Bank Holidays)
Contact the Traveline for timetable enquiries on 0871 200 22
33.
The land between Snab Point and Piel Island is
in private ownership and no vehicles are allowed. Using a
mechanically propelled vehicle on a SSSI without permission is a
criminal offence under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act
2000.
Walkers can cross to the island at low tide,
but should always check tide times before setting out and beware of
deep channels and soft sands.
A local guiding company, Murphy's Miles is happy to take groups
across the sands at low tide to the island. Contact John Murphy on
01229 473746 or e mail murphysmiles@hotmail.co.uk.
Piel Island and Castle
Piel Island has a long and interesting history and is of
considerable importance in the local area both because of its links
to Furness Abbey and as a major deep water harbour. There is
evidence of human occupation spanning at least the last 3000
years. Piel Island was probably visited by the Celts and
later by the Romans during their conquest of Britain. The
first recorded name of the island came from the Scandinavian
settlers to the area. The name Foudray or Fotheray comes from
the Old Norse for fire island - meaning a fire beacon to guide
boats. Foundray may have been used as a foddering place for
the settlers' grazing animals.
In 1127 the island was given to the Savignac monks as part of
their original land for an abbey from King Stephen to the Abbot of
Savigny in Normandy. By order of the Abbot Furness Abbey
became Cistercian in 1148. Furness Abbey started to grow and
Foudray fulfilled their need for a safe harbour. In 1212 King
John granted the Abbey a licence to land one cargo of "wheat, flour
and other provisions" in order to stave off a famine caused by the
failure of the local harvest. It is likely that some form of
structure existed to house cargos entering the port especially as
the trade from Piel to Abbey lands in Ireland increased during the
13th Century. The "Port of Furness" was by this time well
established and the trade in corn considerable. In 1327
Furness Abbey was granted the right to crenellate "fortify" its
existing dwelling house.
The current motte and bailey "castle" with its
defence ditches was built in the early part of the 14th
century. It was probably intended to be used as a fortified
warehouse to keep cargoes safe from pirates and other
raiders. The Abbey soon discovered that it did not just keep
the pirates out, the "Pile of Fotheray" (as it became known from
medieval times) it also kept the King's customs men at a
distance. It is widely known at the time that the Abbey was
active in the smuggling business when in 1423 a petition from the
merchants in Calais was issued complaining that Furness Abbey had
been smuggling wool from Piel without paying the necessary
dues. Six years later, due to the threat of invasion, the
castle was partially rebuilt and new arrangements were made for its
defence with each tenant of the Abbey required to supply men and
arms.
Download a larger
version of artist's impression of Piel Castle (847 Kb).
Piel's notoriety during the 15th Century continued when Colonel
Martin Swartz and his German mercenaries landed on the island on
June 4th 1487 as part of an attempt by Lambert Simnel to seize the
English Crown. Simnel claimed that he was the Earl of Warwick
and therefore was the rightful King of England. Simnel set
off across Furness for London. He was defeated by the King's
forces as the Battle of Stoke on June 16th and when he did finally
arrive in London it was as a prisoner of Henry VII.
Following the restoration of Charles II, the Lordship of Furness
was given to the newly ennobled Duke of Albemarle in 1662 and this
included the castle and part of the remaining land on the
island. After this date activity on Piel seems to have
revolved around shipping and industry. A salt works is
recorded as existing on the island from as early as 1662 and in
1667 a proposal was made to use Piel as a ship yard with the
intention of constructing three third rate frigates by 1st August
1671. There is also a suggestion that a ship's chandlery
existed on the island in the 17th Century.
During the late 17th and 18th century Piel became important due
to its collection of customs. A customs officer worked from
Piel from 1669 and during the early 18th century several seizures
of illegally imported alcohol were made. Officers working at
Piel still had no permanent base and were required to travel from
Lancaster.
In the early
19th century Piel remained important for shipping entering the
harbour and was occupied by a number of pilots appointed by the
Port Commissioners of Lancaster. They were granted an
old barn to be converted into cottages and land by the Duke of
Buccleuch. There were several disputes over access to land
and water with the landlord of the Ship Inn. In 1875 a row of
cottages was constructed for pilots to the north west of the
inn.
Until 1874 the ownership of the island was divided between the
Duke of Buccleuch who owned the castle and the Ship Inn and a Mr C
W Archibald who owned the rest. The Duke purchased the
remainder of the land in 1874 and spent a considerable sum on
maintenance to the crumbling castle. In 1919 the Duke decided
to sell the entire island and a prospectus was drawn up. The
intervention of the mayor of Barrow, Alfred Barrow in August 1919
with a request that the island be given to the town halted the
sale. The entire island was given over to the town of
Barrow-in-Furness in 1920 as a memorial to those who lost their
lives during the First World War. The guardianship of the
castle was transferred to the Secretary of State for the
Environment in 1973 from whom it passed to English Heritage.
The Ship Inn
The origins of the Ship Inn are obscure although it is said to
be over 300 years old. Although uncorroborated it is believed
to have developed out of a former ships' chandlery established in
the 17th century. In 1746 a lease for agricultural land situated
within the castle ditch was granted to an Edward Postlethwaite who
is described as an innkeeper from the "Pile of Fowdrey" A
description from 1813 paints a vivid picture of the life of the
innkeeper at that time:
"There is a public-house on the island, the only habitation,
tenanted by an old Scotchman, who has been lord of this domain for
many years, and goes through the duties of guide and expositor
among the ruins of the castle with admirable fluency. The
custom of seamen from the roadstead, and the donations of
occasional visitors in the summer time support him in a state of
which he has no right, he thinks, to complain: but he acknowledged
that when there were no vessels in the roadstead he found his
situation rather too lonesome, and apt to drive him to his
beer-barrel for company."
The late 19th Century was a period of increased social activity
in Piel Channel, with boating for pleasure becoming an important
pursuit for many people. Many used the Ship Inn but drunken
revellers did occasionally become casualties of boating accidents
and in one case the coroner stated that "the landlord of the Ship
Inn should not supply drink as to make incapable men who may have
to take charge of a boat". Piel was popular with yachtsmen
and a regatta regularly held. In such an event in 1889 the
inauguration of a new landlord, a Mr. Walmsley took place.
The Ship Inn, the island’s pub offers beverages, snacks
and meals. The Ship Inn is a listed building and
is being extensively restored with the assistance of Seachange
funding. The South Wing was refurbished in
2012. Artgene and Associates have designed the internal
fittings and these are currently in an exhibition at the Nan Tait
Centre, Barrow until their installation in the Ship
Inn. Bed and Breakfast accommodation in 3 beautiful
en suite rooms is available and also Bunkhouse
accommodation. Camping is also permitted on the island but
visitors must obtain a permit from the Ship Inn for the managed
area (£5 per night per tent). Please contact Steve Chattaway
on 07516 453 784 or e mail shipinn@pielisland.co.uk for
information.
The island hosts a large programme of events throughout the
summer. For up to date information on these and more
information about Piel Island visit www.pielisland.co.uk
ITV filmed the island for its programme Islands of Britain,
presented by Martin Clunes and included the coronation of the
present Landlord of the Ship Inn as the new "King of Piel" - see
below.
Download the
"King of Piel" tourist leaflet - pdf 2Mb.
The King and Knights of Piel
One of
the most enduring aspects of the Ship Inn is the tradition of the
king and knights of Piel. The tradition holds that each new
landlord is crowned "King of Piel" in a ceremony of uncertain
origin, in which they sit in an ancient chair, wearing a helmet and
holding a sword while alcohol is poured over their head. In
early versions of the ceremony they also wore oilskins. The
early written references to Knights of Piel are in the first
visitors' book which started in 1856. The early evidence for
the ceremony is the graffiti carved into the chair. The
ceremony is said to be due to the landing of Lambert Simnel in 1487
and is most likely to have begun as a slightly mocking homage to
this event. By the 19th Century it had become an
important aspect of the islands history to such an extent that
responsibility for looking after the helmet and chair fell within
the tenancy agreement.
Clearly at this stage the ceremony for knights and the king was
the same, and over time there have been several variations.
References in the visitors' books describe knights at one point as
free members of "the Noble Ancient Castle of Piel". In 1914
there was an entire cabinet including Prime Minister and Lord Mayor
of Piel and a whole royal family is listed. One thread
remains in common however - the king and knights of Piel were
always expected to be "a free drinker and smoker and lover of the
female sex".
Recorded Landlords of the Ship Inn are Edward Postlethwaite
c1746-c1766, James Hool c1839-c1856, John Pennington c1856-c1868,
William Pennington c1868-c1879, John Housby c1879-1889, William
Walmsley 1889-c1894, Thomas and Elizabeth Ashburner c1894-c1922, G
H Nelson? 1920?, Harry Andrews 1922-1927? William
Drummond1922-1927?, J F Bewley 1927-1931, Robert McDowell
1931-1947, Mr and Mrs W Hackett 1947-1950, William Dearn 1950-1952,
James Howarth 1952-1955, Mr and Mrs Dan Rooney 1955-1964, Jack
Nicholson 1964-1970, M J McKeown 1970-1971, H D Green 1971-1974, Mr
and Mrs J T Smith 1974-1978, Ron Warburton 1978-1986, Rod and Karen
Scarr 1986-2006, Steve and Sheila Chattaway 2007-.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
The island is a historic site and a site of special scientific
interest. Visitors can ramble amongst the castle ruins and
stroll along the beach but are asked to respect the built and
natural environment of this special place. Camping outside
the designated camping areas and Open fires are not permitted on
the island.
Images courtesy of Greenlane
Archaeology Ltd.