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This is a map of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Brecqhou is just west of Sark.

Brecqhou (Brechou) is one of the Channel Islands, located at about 49°26′N, 2°23′W, just west of Sark. Its surface area is approximately 200 acres (just under one third of a sq. mile). It is a tenement of Sark (although the current tenants dispute this), which is in turn part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

A view of Brecqhou, from the north of Sark

The island is separated from Sark by an extremely narrow sound (Le Goulliot Passage) which, according to legend, has only once been traversed by boat in a high tide. However in reality it is traversed frequently by yachts during each summer and by fishing boats year round and even forms a part of the route taken by occasional powerboating events in the islands.

The origin of the name is as follows: -hou as found in many island names around the Norman coast derives from Old Norse language holm (island or islet); brekka signifies a cliff or escarpment (cf. Bricquebec).

Since 1993 the tenement of Brecqhou has been owned by the Barclay brothers, identical twins, who are better known as co-owners of The Daily Telegraph newspaper and former co-owners of The Scotsman. Under the Reform (Sark) Law 1951, the tenant is David Barclay who is entitled to occupy the tenant's seat in Chief Pleas, the parliament of Sark. Since the purchase the Barclays have been in several legal disputes with the government of Sark, and have expressed a desire to make Brecqhou politically independent from Sark. Ironically, their former paper, The Scotsman, has opposed moves towards Scottish autonomy. They drive cars on the island, and have a helicopter, both of which are banned under Sark law.

A view of Brecqhou, from the south east.

The former tenant, Leonard Joseph Matchan, had devised a personal flag (identical to the Sark flag, with the exception that the Matchan arms was emblazoned on the bottom right). Although frequently considered the island flag, this was only a personal flag, and is not in use anymore.

Leonard Joseph Matchan had issued stamps in 1969. Matchan occupied Brecqhou until his death on October 6, 1987. The current tenants have issued postage stamps annually since 1999.

In Sark, the word tenant is used, and often pronounced, as in French in the sense of feudal landholder rather than the common English meaning of lessee. The landholdings of Sark are held by 40 tenants representing the parcels of the 40 families who colonised Sark. As explained on the Sark government website [1]: "There is no true freehold, all land being held on perpetual lease (fief) from the Seigneur, and the 40 properties (Tenements) into which the Island is divided (as well as a few other holdings in perpetual fief) can only pass by strict rules of inheritance or by sale."

The location of the Channel Islands in Europe

• 1966–1987: Leonard Joseph Matchan
• From 1993: Sir David Barclay

• Le Dicotentin, Lepelley, Cherbourg 2001, ISBN 2-913920-06-3