Brownsea Island by third parties, is owned by the National Trust. Most of the buildings are situated near the small landing stage. The northern portion of the island is a Nature Reserve managed by Dorset Wildlife Trust and an important habitat for birds; this part of the island has limited public access. A small portion to the southeast of the island, along with Brownsea Castle, is leased to the John Lewis Partnership for use as a holiday hotel for staff, and is not open to the public. The island forms part of the Studland civil parish in the Purbeck local government district.
Action off James Island Action off James Island The Action off James Island was a naval engagement of the War of 1812. In May 1813 an American frigate captured three British whalers off James Island in the South Pacific. Only one of the whalers resisted and the resultant single-ship action was one of the few fought in Pacific waters during the war. The British later recovered all the whalers involved. Following Captain David Porter's passage of Cape Horn in a year earlier, the United States Navy vessel focused on commerce raiding by attacking British whalers off the coast of South America. After taking several