An Island Named "Sark"

Have you ever heard of the Island of Sark?  If not, I'm with you, I haven't either.  Sark is "Situated in the English Channel. . . the fourth largest of the Channel Islands, and lies 70 miles South of England and 22 miles from the coast of France.  It is 3 1/2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide," The Feudal Isle of Sark: Where Sixteenth Century laws are still Observed, Sibyl Hathaway, National Geographic Magazine, July, 1932, p. 101.

Sark has a colorful history of being governed by the English and French, being abandoned, even being a haven for Scotch pirates.  There are no venomous animals and only the owners are allowed to keep a female dog and raise birds.  The gardens and wildflowers are reportedly abundant and beautiful.

The island is officially a part of the British Empire even though it is closer to France.  The 675 citizens are bilingual, speaking both English and French which are both taught in the schools. There is no income tax but there is a balanced budget.  By law, no cars are allowed on the island.  There is no town but around the post office are several houses.  There is an ancient prison on which its lock has rusted off.  "Offenses against the law are virtually unknown in Sark, and the . . . prison with its two cells is seldom used" (photo caption, p. 115).  One reason for this is that there is no place to which one can escape.  The island is surrounded by tall cliffs. Boats may enter the small harbor only at high tide if the sea is not too rough. Of the male inhabitants, half are fishermen and the other half are farmers.

Mrs. Hathaway and her husband, an American native but now a British citizen, are the benevolent rulers/owners.  She reports various surviving superstitions.  "All the ancient houses have wide stone ledges projecting from the base of the chimneys just above the roof.  These are for the witches to rest on, so that they will not come down the chimneys into the house  . . not a single witch has come down the chimneys within living memory!" (p 119).

The author concluded this delightful short article by assuring her readers that she and her husband will maintain the ancient traditions which have made Sark "a little feudal paradise of peace and quiet, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest" (p. 119).