Looe Island, Cornwall
First screened 1 March 2009

Q&A

An interview with Claire Lewis, Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

How did the dig come about?
We approached Time Team. There seemed to be lots of stories about the island's chapel but it was difficult to find out hard facts – we hoped the dig would help reveal the truth. Also the island was only bequeathed to Cornwall Wildlife Trust in 2004. Since then it has been run as a nature reserve called St George's Island and we are still in the process of learning how to manage the reserve. In particular we hope that the report produced by Time Team's archaeologists will provide us with some management prescriptions for the chapel site.

Is it generally part of your job description to monitor archaeological finds?
No, not specifically as our background is nature conservation, although Cornwall Wildlife Trust is supportive of our attempts to learn more about the island's history and archaeology. When Jon [Ross] worked for BTCV he often helped to uncover or repair archaeological features and when I worked as an Environmental Consultant I was sometimes involved with monitoring historical landscape features. The island is so rich in history it's hard not to want to learn more.

Have you come across any interesting discoveries yourselves on the island?
Yes! The island had become rather overgrown with scrub and accumulated rubbish (there are no local refuse collectors here!) so during clearance work the WWII bomb crater was rediscovered, worked stone, culverts, remains of old fence lines, and a platform for an old monkey cage (!) were also uncovered… who knows what we'll find next!

Please tell us a bit about your lives on Looe.
Jon has been employed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust as the island's warden since 2005 (after volunteering on the previous summer) and I decided to join him here in 2006. There are two other residents and a total of three properties, although only Jetty Cottage and Smugglers are inhabited. Island House is the main building. It was built in the 1870s as a customs lookout to prevent smuggling. Later, when the Atkins sisters bought the island they made it their home. Today, when people visit the island they are walked to Island House and shown around the downstairs area. The house acts as a time capsule of the sisters' life and is where visitors can find out more about the island's wildlife and the work of Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

What were the most interesting discoveries for you?
The discovery of the remains of a very tall person – there's said to be a ghost that haunts the Island and he has very long limbs! We were also fascinated to learn that there's evidence of activity from earlier than the 1100s and the last-minute discovery of the Roman coins was very exciting.

Were you surprised by the scale of the dig?
No, not really, not on the island site where we live. However at the time of writing to invite Time Team here I hadn't thought about the fact they might also be interested in carrying out a complementary dig on the mainland.

What has happened to the trenches? Have they been kept open?
The archaeologists back-filled the chapel site trenches – we have a small flock of very inquisitive Hebridean sheep on the island, so this was essential to help protect the archaeology! However Jon asked Time Team to leave the trench in the gardens open so that with the help of other Cornwall Wildlife Trust staff they could lift out the stone. It now stands proudly on the lawn and is a great reminder of the fun we had during the filming. Oh and no, we didn't find any buried treasure under the stone!

Can visitors stay on Looe island?
The island is open to day visitors from Easter to September. The Trust's Islander boat brings people across when the tide and weather conditions are suitable – to find out more please visit Cornwall Wildlife Trust's website and follow the Nature Reserves link and then select St George's Island.

When is the best time of year to visit and why?
Personally I prefer the island in the spring. The woodland is full of wildflowers, the meadow by Babs Atkins' grave reveals its past role for commercial daffodil production and the southern coast is bursting with nesting seabirds. September is also a lovely time of transition when we are busy harvesting from the garden, the brambles and shrubs provide lots of juicy berries for the birds and butterflies still abound.

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