Scilly Isles

views updated May 29 2018

Scilly Isles. A group of 50 granite islands, five of them inhabited, lying 30 miles off Land's End in Cornwall. The largest islands are St Mary's and Tresco. Belonging to the abbey of Tavistock in the Middle Ages, they passed to the Godolphin family and in 1933 to the crown. Piracy, wrecking, and smuggling were not unknown before market gardening and tourism took over. The population is just over 2,000.

J. A. Cannon

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

Scilly Islands

All Sources -
Updated Aug 24 2016 About encyclopedia.com content Print Topic

You Might Also Like