Steep Holm (grid reference ST228607) is a 48.87 acre at high tide, expanding to 63.26 acres at mean low water, 25.51 hectare, English island lying in the Bristol Channel.^[1] Administratively, it is now part of North Somerset unitary authority. It was formerly in Somerset; then it became part of Avon on 1 April 1974.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... The metre or meter is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Satellite view of the Bristol Channel Map of the Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (Welsh: ) is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from the West Country and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn (Afon Hafren) to that part of the North... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the  United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height or shoulder drop (in America) or prime factor (in Europe), is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains, also known as peaks. ... Example of a topographic map with contour lines Part of the same map in a perspective shaded relief view illustrates how the contour lines of the original follow the terrain Topographic maps are a variety of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour... Part of an Ordnance Survey map at 1 inch to the mile scale from 1945 Ordnance Survey (OS) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the  United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Satellite view of the Bristol Channel Map of the Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (Welsh: ) is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from the West Country and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn (Afon Hafren) to that part of the North... North Somerset is a unitary authority in England, historically part of the county of Somerset but now administered independently. ... A unitary authority is a type of local authority, which has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... The County of Avon was a short-lived non-metropolitan county and ceremonial county in the west of England, named after the River Avon which ran through it. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

The island serves as a wind and wave break, sheltering the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel. The island is formed of carboniferous limestone and is geologically a continuation of the Mendip Hills at Brean Down.^[2] The island is now uninhabited, with the exception of the warden, and protected as a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), notification having taken place in 1952.^[3] Nearby is Flat Holm island, part of Wales. Carboniferous Limestone is a type of limestone rock. ... The Mendip Hills (commonly called The Mendips) are a range of limestone hills (karst) situated to the south of Bristol and Bath in north Somerset, England. ... Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of North Somerset standing 320 feet high and extending 1½ miles into the Bristol Channel between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham on Sea. ... It has been suggested that Reserve design be merged into this article or section. ... A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ... A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ... Flat Holm (Welsh: Ynys Echni) is a Welsh island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately 3. ... This article is about the country. ...

Map of the Bristol Channel

Both Steep Holm and Flat Holm were fortified in the 1860s as a defence against invasion, Steep Holm having several gun batteries, some of which are Scheduled Ancient Monuments, and a centralised group of brick-built barrack blocks. These facilities were updated in both World War I and World War II; in WW II, search light batteries were built on Steep Holm. The Steep Holm batteries were also connected, by underwater telegraph cable, to the Brean Down Fort batteries, but parts of the cable were stolen for scrap after the end of WW II.^[4] Map showing location of bristol channel File links The following pages link to this file: Bristol Channel Categories: CIA World Factbook images ... Map showing location of bristol channel File links The following pages link to this file: Bristol Channel Categories: CIA World Factbook images ... // The First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA was built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ... A Scheduled Ancient Monument is defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983 of the United Kingdom government. ... Barracks are military housing. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... Brean Down Fort was built on Brean Down near Weston-super-Mare, Somerset between 1864 and 1871 on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission. ...

The island is owned by the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust, a charity which took over the administration of Steep Holm in 1974 in memory of the well-known broadcaster and naturalist, and purchased it in 1976.^[1] The mission statement of the Trust is: "To protect, preserve and enhance for the benefit of the public the landscape, antiquities, flora, fauna, natural beauty and scientific interest of the island of Steep Holm in the County of North Somerset and to advance the education of the public in the natural sciences."

One barrack block is in use today to provide visitor facilities.

References

External links

• Steep Holm Island
• Steep Holm Island: Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust
• SteepHolm Nature Reserve
• Flat Holm & Steep Holm

Further reading

• Legg, Rodney (1992). Steep Holm, Allsop Island. Wincanton Press. ISBN 0-94869-961-2.
• Legg, Rodney (1992). Steep Holm Legends and History. Wincanton Press. ISBN 0-94869-959-0.
• Legg, Rodney (1990). Steep Holm Wildlife. Wincanton Press. ISBN 0-94869-911-6.
• Legg, Rodney (1991). Steep Holm at War. Wincanton Press. ISBN 0-94869-960-4.
• Legg, Rodney (1985). The Steep Holm Guide. Dorset Publishing. ISBN 0-94869-949-3.
• Brown, Donald (1999). Somerset V Hitler: Secret Operations in the Mendips 1939–1945. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-590-0.
• Rendell, Stan and Joan, (1993). Steep Holm: The Story of a Small Island. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-0323-6.