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Piel Island lies half a mile (1 Km) off the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula in the area of Lancashire north of the sands. It is located at 54°4' North, 3°10' West ( OS grid ref. SD 233637). It is one of the Islands of Furness. For local government purposes Piel Island is in the administrative county of Cumbria.The island is owned by the people of Barrow-in-Furness, the mainland town across the Piel Channel within whose administrative boundaries it is to be found. The area of Piel is about 50 acres (20 Ha). The only permanent
residents are the landlord of the Ship Inn and his family.
1 History
In the Middle Ages Piel was known as Fowdray (or Foudrey) island. This name would seem to be derived from the Old Norse words of “fouder” meaning fodder, and “ay or oy” meaning island. The island's known history dates from the time of King Stephen who, in 1127 gave the island to the Savignac monks as part of a land grant for an abbey. When the Savignacs became part of the Cistercian order later in the 12th century, the island came under the control of the Cistercians at nearby Furness Abbey . In the early 13th century the Cistercians used Piel as a safe harbour and built a warehouse for the storage of grain, wine and wool. Some of these commodities were shipped over from Ireland. In 1212 the monks were granted a licence by King John to land one cargo of "wheat, flour and other provisions” to stave off a famine caused by the failure of the local harvest. Later in the century an unlimited cargo licence was granted and in 1258Events February 10 Mongols overrun Baghdad, burning it to the ground and killing 800,000 citizens Llywelyn the Last declares himself Prince of Wales. He is the final ruler of an independent Wales, before its conquest by the English. John IV Lascaris succe ships owned by the abbey were placed under royal protection.
The monks fortified the island, firstly with a wooden tower surrounded by a ditch with palisades, and then in 1327Events January 25 Edward III becomes King of England. beginning of reign of Alfonso IV of Aragon. Petrarch sees a woman he names Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon, which awakes in him a lasting passion. He writes a series of poems dedicated t they commenced the building of a motte and bailey fort. This structure was, at the time, the largest of its kind in Northwest England. It was probably built as a fortified warehouse to repel pirates and raiders, but it would appear to have had a measure of success in keeping the customs men at bay as well; smuggling was widespread at the time and the abbey was known to have been involved. Indeed, in 1423Events July 31 Hundred Years War: Battle of Cravant The French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. August 23 English with Burgundian soldiers defeat the French, who were supported by the Scots, at Verneuil. The English-Burgundian an accusation was made against the Abbott of Furness that he smuggled wool out of the country from "la Peele de Foddray". The red sandstoneSandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mainly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. Since sandstones often form highly visible cliffs and other rock formations, certain ruins of the fort remain today and are known as Piel Castle.
The next noteworthy episode in the island's history occurred on 4 June 1487Events Richard Fox becomes Bishop of Exeter. May 24 Lambert Simnel is crowned King "Henry VI of England" in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. He claims to be Edward, Earl of Warwick and rivals Henry VII for the throne of England. June 16 Battle of when Lambert SimnelLambert Simnel circa 1477 circa 1534) was a child pretender to the throne of England. Together with Perkin Warbeck, he was one of two impostors who threatened the rule of Henry VII of England (reigned 1485 1509) during the last decade of the 15th century. and his supporters arrived from Dublin. Simnel was being passed off as Edward VI, King of England by John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln in his attempt to regain the throne for the Yorkists. Simnel and 2000 German mercenaries made their way via Piel to do battle for the throne. They were eventually defeated at the Battle of Stoke near Newark in Nottinghamshire on 16 June 1487.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537 Piel Island and its castle became the property of the King. The castle's fortifications were strengthened at the time of the Spanish Armada but from then until the Civil War nothing of note happened on the island. The area of Furness was a Parliamentarian stronghold during the Civil War. For this reason the Parliamentarian fleet retreated to Piel Harbour when the Royalists captured Liverpool.
Piel Island became an important trading post during the 1700s and at one point had customs men permanently stationed there; smuggling was still rife at the time. In the second half of the 18th century the iron ore trade began to develop on the Furness Peninsula and the harbour continued to be important to the local economy. As the volume of shipping increased pilots were stationed on
Piel. Their cottages still stand, used as summer residences by sailors.
