Sark – Helier de Carteret resettles the island in 1565
By the 16th century, Sark was uninhabited and used by pirates as a refuge. In 1565, Helier de Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen in Jersey, set out to resettle the island – the beginning of the feudal order that made Sark a royal fiefdom until 2008.
Its earlier history links it to Normandy: in 933 Sark was included in the Duchy of Normandy and, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, united with the English Crown. Medieval monks lived here, and in the 13th century the pirate Eustace the Monk used it as a base. Today about 500 people live on Sark, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Share your island stories with us!