St Mary's
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Porthcressa, showing part of Hugh Town |
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St Mary's shown within Isles of Scilly | |
Population | 1,723 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SV915115 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ISLES OF SCILLY |
Postcode district | TR21 |
Dialling code | 01720 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Isles of Scilly |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | |
St Mary's (Cornish: Ennor the mainland) is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England.
St Mary's has an area of 6.58 square kilometres (2.54 sq mi) — 40 percent of the total land area of the Isles of Scilly — this includes four small tidal islands which connect with St Mary's at low tide: Toll’s Island, Taylor’s Island, Newford Island and the island at Innisidgen.
With a population of 1,723 (out of a total population for Scilly of 2,203) St Mary's is relatively densely populated, with twice the population density than the Isles of Scilly average. The majority of St Mary's residents live in the western half of the island, with Hugh Town alone having a population of 1,097.
The main settlement, Hugh Town (Cornish: Tre Huw), was sold to the inhabitants by the Crown in 1949 (it had belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall — which still owns much of the rest of the island). Other settlements on the island are Old Town, Porthloo, Pelistry, Trenoweth, Holy Vale, Maypole, Normandy, Longstone, Rocky Hill and Telegraph.
The island became the home of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his final resting place after his death in 1995. His grave is at the cemetery at Old Town Church.