St. Michael's Mount

Trading post in antiquity, legendary site of angelic apparition, Benedictine priory for four centuries, aristocratic home since the 1600s, and active place of worship throughout.

The earliest evidence of the Mount's significance comes from its use as a trading post, possibly as early as 350 BC when Mediterranean merchants sought Cornish tin and copper. But it is the religious associations that define the Mount's character. Legend tells that in 495 AD, St Michael the Archangel appeared to Cornish fishermen on the western side of the island, warning them from danger and guiding them to safety. Whether this legend is genuinely medieval or a later conflation with stories from Mont-Saint-Michel in France, scholarly debate has not settled. What is certain is that by 1044, Edward the Confessor granted the Mount to the Benedictine order of Mont-Saint-Michel, establishing a priory that would shape the island's development for four centuries. The present church was begun by Abbot Bernard in 1135 and consecrated in 1144. Pilgrims came in increasing numbers, encouraged by an indulgence granted by Pope Gregory VII that could remit up to 30% of sins. The Mount became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in medieval England. When Henry V's French wars led to the suppression of 'alien houses' in the early 15th century, the priory ended but the chapel continued under Syon Abbey. After the Reformation, the Mount passed through various hands until the St Aubyn family acquired it around 1650. They remain today, their home intertwined with historic monument and active chapel.