A History of Sark
A small island that keeps large stories.
Eight hundred years of feudal constitution, five years of German occupation, a two-cell prison from 1856, and one man who invaded on his own. The best of what Sark remembers.
- 01
A very short history of Sark
How old is Sark (Sercq)? Saint Magloire, pirates, the forty families of 1565, and the feudal constitution that still, recognisably, runs the island today.
- 02
An island year, 1626
What Sark's surviving records reveal about one year of work, law, fear and dependence on the sea.
- 03
Before the witch trials: dancing, scandal and the law on Sark in 1626
Court records from 1626 and 1627 preserve Sark prosecutions for dancing, a paternity dispute and the case of Sara Vibert and Amos Vaudin.
- 04
The island that still speaks its own language
Sark has its own Norman language, Sertchais or Sarkese. A prince wrote it down from fishermen in 1862, and it is still being recorded today.
- 05
The Sark windmill, built 1571
Sark's windmill turned grain into flour, dues and exchange. That gave the miller an unusual place at the centre of island life.
- 06
The La Trobe brothers and their guide
Two young brothers spent three summers exploring Sark's coast. Their 1914 guide taught visitors how to read the island from the waterline inwards.
- 07
The smallest prison in the world
The smallest prison in the world has two cells and a barrel roof. Built in 1856, and still used occasionally when it is needed.
- 08
The one-man invasion of Sark
In 1990, Andr茅 Gardes, a French physicist, rowed to Sark carrying a weapon and a claim to be its rightful heir. The Constable disarmed him.
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