Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck.

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 by partners, and is not open to the public.

[citation needed] The island forms part of the Studland civil parish within the Dorset unitary authority.

[citation needed] Some imported stonework and statuary on the island serves as a habitat for a Mediterranean land snail, Papillifera bidens.

[8] The first records of inhabitants on Brownsea Island occurred in the 9th century, when a small chapel and hermitage were built by monks from Cerne Abbey near Dorchester.

The chapel was dedicated to St Andrew and the only resident of the island was a hermit, who may have administered to the spiritual welfare of sailors passing through Poole Harbour.

In 1015, Canute led a Viking raid to the harbour and used Brownsea as a base to sack Wareham and Cerne Abbey.

[9] Following his invasion of England, William the Conqueror gave Studland, which included Brownsea, to his half-brother, Robert de Mortain.

In 1154, King Henry II granted the Abbot of Cerne the right of wreck for the island and the abbey continued to control the interests of Brownsea for the following 350 years.

Henry VIII recognised the island's strategic importance of guarding the narrow entrance to the expanding port of Poole.

As part of a deterrent to invasion forces from Europe, the island was fortified in 1547 by means of a blockhouse, which became known as Brownsea Castle.

In 1576, Queen Elizabeth I made a gift of Brownsea to one of her court favourites and rumoured lover, Sir Christopher Hatton.

[12] Sir Robert Clayton, a Lord Mayor of London and wealthy merchant became owner in the mid-1650s and after his death in 1707 the island was sold to William Benson, a Whig Member of Parliament and architect.

[13] In 1765 Sir Humphrey Sturt, a local landowner and MP purchased the island, which in turn passed to his sons.

It was purchased by William Waugh, a former Colonel in the British Army in the belief he could exploit the white clay deposits on the island to manufacture high-quality porcelain.

The 1881 census recorded a total population of 270 people on the island, the majority of whom provided a labour force for the pottery works.

During the Second World War large flares were placed on the western end of the island to mislead Luftwaffe bombers away from the port of Poole.

The decoy saved Poole and Bournemouth from 1,000 tonnes (160,000 st) of German bombs, but the deserted village of Maryland was destroyed.

[24] In April 1961, Bonham-Christie died at 96 years old and her grandson gave the island to the Treasury to pay her death duties.

[25] Work was carried out to prepare the island for visitors; tracks were cleared through areas overgrown with rhododendrons and firebreaks were created to prevent repetition of the 1934 fire.

Since 1964 the island has been host to the Brownsea Open Air Theatre, annually performing the works of William Shakespeare.

After ownership of the island transferred to the National Trust, a permanent 20 hectares (49 acres) Scout camp site was opened in 1963 by Olave Baden-Powell.

[citation needed] In August 2007, 100 years after Baden-Powell's experimental camp, Brownsea Island was the focus of celebrations of the centenary.