Crevichon

Crevichon is a tiny islet in the Channel Islands, lying off the west coast of Herm and just north of Jethou, measuring only around 212 by 168 metres, less than three hectares of land in total.

Its name derives from Norman French and is thought to mean “isle of crabs, crayfish or cranes”, a description reflecting how much more abundant these creatures would have been a thousand years ago, when sea levels around the Channel Islands stood significantly lower than today.

History

In the 16th century, stone was quarried from Crevichon to help build Castle Cornet, the great fortress guarding Guernsey’s harbour at St Peter Port, and some accounts suggest granite taken from the islet may even have travelled as far as London, used in the construction of the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral. Crevichon’s history carries a darker chapter too: the islet was historically used as a place of execution for captured pirates, whose bodies were left displayed in chains as a visible warning to other sailors passing through these waters.

Crevichon’s most dramatic modern moment came during the Second World War, on 19 November 1940, when a German Heinkel He 111 bomber crashed on the islet, killing its entire crew, either shot down by British night fighters or brought down by engine failure during a raid targeting southern England. The waters around Crevichon have also claimed civilian shipping: the steamer Courier, carrying some 80 passengers, ran aground here in 1905.

A 16th-century drawing in the British Museum shows Crevichon as a wooded islet. In 1566 iron and hammers were taken to “Creavissham” to quarry its granite for Castle Cornet, and the quarrying that continued on and off afterwards wore the island down so much that a fifteen-foot marker was put up on its summit to keep it visible. The writer Compton Mackenzie, who leased Herm and Jethou, called Crevichon “Merg” in his novel Fairy Gold, set on a fictional version of the islands. Besides the German bomber of 1940, the Guernsey steamer Courier ran aground here in 1905 with 80 passengers on board.

Crevichon lies about 215 metres from Jethou. It is private and there is no landing, but it is easily seen from the Herm ferry and from Herm’s west coast. You can collect Crevichon as a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

Crevichon’s waters support Gannet, Puffin, Fulmar and European Storm Petrel, alongside Manx shearwaters. The islet sits close to Herm and Jethou, part of the wider Channel Islands archipelago.