Green Island
Green Island from the South Deep channel
to the south west
Green Island is located in Dorset
Green Island
Green Island
Location within Dorset
OS grid referenceSZ006866
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Green Island is an island in Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. It lies in the central south part of the harbour, south of Brownsea Island and Furzey Island. The island is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Special Protection Area (SPA).[1]

Geography

The island covers approximately 45 acres (18 ha) at low tide while the central raised part of the island is approximately 19 acres (7.7 ha). The island is covered in extensive woodland in the centre, made up of Scots pine with several small zones of heathland. The island also has a large salt marsh and several small glades, as well as a beach area. Most of the island is made of sandstone. It has two buildings: a two-bedroom summer house and a single-story cabin known as the Greensleaves. The island has a helicopter landing pad and a private wooden jetty. The island, along with Brownsea Island and Furzey Island, is one of the few known places in England where red squirrels are still found.[2]

Green Island lies within the civil parish of Corfe Castle. The parish forms part of the Purbeck local government district.[1]

History and ownership

The island is currently privately owned by Mr Edward Iliffe, a multi-millionaire from Berkshire. The island was owned from 1987 by the Davies family until 2005. In 2005 the island was put up for sale at an asking price of £2.5 million. In previous years, the island was used by the Green Island Holiday Trust which ran a limited number of holidays for disabled and disadvantaged people on the island. It was also used for corporate events, weddings and functions. The Green Island Holiday Trust now conducts its activities at Holton Lee (near Upton).

The island was featured on television in the archaeology programme Time Team.[3][4] In 2003 Time Team visited the island and conducted works to examine the island's rich history. The dig uncovered a furnace as well as pottery fragments. Evidence suggests that at one point Green Island was twice its size and a major place of trading in southern England. This episode was first broadcast on 8 February 2004. The island is part of a current project run by Bournemouth University to discover the history of Poole Harbour, in conjunction with Poole Maritime Trust.[5]

On the morning of 20 April 2012, a fire destroyed a 3-storey wooden building that was still under construction. Fire crews were summoned at 07:20 BST, and around 40 firefighters extinguished the blaze.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 OS Explorer Map OL15 - Purbeck & South Dorset. Ordnance Survey. 2006. ISBN 978-0-319-23865-3.
  2. ↑ http://dorset.ceh.ac.uk/Science_and_Society/Schools/Squirel_Green.htm Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Red Squirrels on the Island
  3. ↑ http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/2004_green.html Time Team and Green Island History
  4. ↑ http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team/episode-guide/series-11/episode-6 The relevant Time Team episode
  5. ↑ "Full Report on BU and Poole MT Project". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2006.
  6. ↑ "Firefighters battle blaze on Green Island in Poole Harbour". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Green Island, Dorset.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.