St. Michael's Mount

During my time in the Penzance region, I toured the small town of Marazion and its wonderful island fortress, St. Michael’s Mount. The Mount has served many roles throughout its long history; it has been a port, a monastery, and a private home with the oldest parts of the building dating to the 12^th century.

When I arrived for my visit, the Mount was shrouded in dense fog, and it was not until I started my pilgrimage across the causeway and up the steps that the grandeur of the site was revealed. The surrounding mist added an ethereal quality to the experience, and hopefully made for some interesting photographs. Around every corner, the Mount was teeming with history. Most notably, the monks of the Mount lit the first signal fire warning of the invasion by the Spanish Armada in 1587. Several painting lining the hallways of the Mount beautifully detailed this historic event.

For a broader history, the “Castle Guide” gives a nice summary: “After the Norman invasion, Robert, half brother of William the Conqueror, was made Earl of Cornwall and in 1070 granted St. Michael’s Mount to the Benedictine Abbey of Mont St. Michel. In 1135, Abbot Bernard founded a church on the summit of the island. The bond between Mont and the Mount continued until 1414 when St Michaels’s Mount was appropriated as an alien property by King Henry V during the Hundred Years War with France. A small community of monks remained until 1548 and the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII.”

“As well as being a religious centre, the Mount saw sporadic military action – notably when it was captured at the end of the twelfth century, under siege during the War of the Roses, and again during the Civil War. Many of the defensive structures and gun batteries seen on the way up the Mount were built between 1642 and 1646. Following its ultimate surrender to Parliamentarian forces, Colonel John St. Aubyn was appointed Governor of the Mount. Twelve years later, he was able to buy it and his descendents live in the castle to the present day.”

“In 1954, Francis St. Aubyn, third Lord St. Levan, gave most of the island to the National trust, but retained a 999 year lease for the family to live in the castle and to show the most historic rooms to the visiting public. Today, his grandson, James St. Aubyn, lives at the Mount with his wife Mary and their four children.”

Many thanks to the former McLaren Scholar, Michael Harvey, for your friendship and for your efforts in the gardens at St. Michael’s Mount. The gardens look absolutely amazing. Also, many thanks, to Gilbert and Helen McCabe for your hospitality and friendship during my time in the Penzance region.