History of sark island

Dame of Sark who from 1927 to 1974 held feudal dominion over Sark, the fourth largest of the Channel Islands. Born Sibyl Mary Collings on the Channel Island of Guernsey, England, on January 13, 1884; died at her home on Sark, on July 14, 1974; daughter of William Frederick Collings and Sophia Wallace Collings; had one sister; married Dudley John Beaumont (died); married Robert Woodward Hathaway, in 1929 (died); children: four sons and three daughters.

As the 22nd individual to succeed to the seigniory of a tiny island in the English Channel, Dame Sibyl Hathaway stood firmly on her traditional feudal rights, keeping her domain intact during a five-year Nazi occupation and taking measures to keep the 20th century at bay, inspired by the notion that "What was good enough for William the Conqueror is good enough for us."

Approximately two square miles (c.

1,200 acres) in area and with a resident population of under 600, the island of Sark lies 7 miles