Brecqhou

Brecqhou (English also Brechou, French Brecqhou - from Old Norse brekka, steep slope and holm, island) is one of the small Channel Islands. It lies only 180 metres west of Sark, separated by Gouliot Passage. Between Brecqhou and Sark lies the small rock Moie S. Pierre, also Moie du Gouliot. Brecqhou reaches a height of 70 meters.

Politically, Brecqhou belongs to Sark, which in turn is part of the bailiwick of Guernsey. The Channel Islands are neither part of the United Kingdom nor crown colonies, but as crown dependencies directly under the British Crown.

In Sark's feudal system, Brecqhou, under the name of La Moinerie de Haut, has the status of a quarantaine tenement, that is, it is one of the land parcels whose owners must have a firearm in order to comply with the 16th century requirement imposed on the feudal lord, the Seigneur of Sark: The island must be manned by at least 40 armed men at all times. Of particular importance until recent times, this status was linked to a seat in the island's parliament until 2008. The rights, duties and name of the tenement La Moinerie de Haut were originally associated with a parcel of land located on Sark itself, owned by the Seigneur since 1835; when the Dame of Sark sold Brecqhou in 1929, she transferred the legal status of this tenement to the island in the process.

The island was originally part of the Vinchelez fiefdom in Jersey and came into the possession of the La Marchant family from Guernsey between 1363 and 1681. It was therefore also called 'Île des Marchands'. On a map of Sark in 1680, the English version is Merchant Island. It was later acquired by the Seigneurs of Sark, who sold it again in 1929. From 1966 until 6 October 1987, the island was owned by Leonard Joseph Matchan, who bought it for £44,000. Since 1993, the island has been owned by twin brothers David and Frederick Barclay, co-owners of the Daily Telegraph and The Scotsman newspapers, who have turned it into an extensive park and, since 1996, have owned a mansion that dominates the island's image, modeled on a Gothic castle. For a long time, the island was hermetically sealed off and only accessible to Barclays guests and servants; strictly regulated tourist visits have been possible since 2012.

The island's owners dispute its status as part of Sark and seek to detach it politically from the neighbouring island. They consider that Brecqhou is not part of Sark's territory, since it is not mentioned in the deed which established this fief in 1565, nor in other deeds relating to Sark. The island had later - in 1681 at the earliest - also come into the possession of the Seigneur, but had been sold again in 1929 - the retention of the Seigneur's privileges which had taken place at that time was invalid, since Brecqhou had never been part of the fief. Among the privileges mentioned is traditionally that the Seigneur must agree to a sale of the island and receive a thirteenth of the sale price (which today has been replaced by a land sales tax); but not least the legislative competence of the island parliament Chief Pleas. The former owner Matcham had already issued his own stamps in 1969, the Barclay brothers have done so annually since 1999.

As the Barclays' thesis is based solely on the absence of mention in documents of the 16th and 17th centuries, the island continues to be regarded by the Seigneur of Sark as part of his territory. In addition to a court case between 1996 and 2000, a Brecqhou Liaison Sub-Committee in Sark's Parliament, established in 2006, was intended to help clarify the facts of the case.

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