Bishops and Clerks

The Bishops and Clerks are a group of rocky islets lying about two and a half kilometres west of Ramsey Island off the Pembrokeshire coast. The islands rise from deep waters and are scattered across roughly one square kilometre. Their jagged outlines and low summits show the hard igneous rocks that make up each group. The name appears in fifteenth-century sailing directions as ‘the bisshoppis and his clerkis’, suggesting an older link to an island and its attendant rocks. The islets are dangerous to shipping, with about thirteen wrecks recorded nearby. North Bishop and Carreg Rhoson both reach forty-four metres above sea level, while Emsger, or South Bishop, is slightly lower at thirty-seven metres. The South Bishop Lighthouse was built on Emsger in 1839 to warn vessels away from the hazards. The rocks vary in composition: gabbro forms the northern groups, microtonalite the central ones, and rhyolite the southernmost islet. Visitors approach the islets by boat from St Justinians or Ramsey Sound. The lighthouse on South Bishop stands on a narrow summit, its white tower contrasting with the dark gabbro cliffs. Between the main groups lie smaller wave-washed rocks such as Carreg-trai and Llechau-isaf, adding to the scattered skyline. The surrounding waters are alive with seabirds, and seals often rest on the lower ledges. From a distance the islets present a rugged profile against the Irish Sea, their layered rocks hinting at ancient volcanic origins.