St Michael's Mount is the tidal island in Mount's Bay that closes the view from Marazion. A granite causeway links island and shore between mid-tide and low water, and boats make the crossing when the tide is in. In Kernewek it is Karrek Loos yn Koos, the grey rock in the woodland.
The monastery
A monastery stood here from the eighth century to the early eleventh. The Mount later became a priory of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, a link that survives in its name, and the buildings that stand today grew from that religious foundation.
The siege
In 1473 the Mount was besieged for 23 weeks by John de Vere, and it held. It has been held, sold and kept in families for centuries since, which is a record of a sort.
The family and the trust
The Mount was sold in 1659 to Colonel John St Aubyn, and the family made it home from around 1650 and still lives there. It was given to the National Trust in 1954. An underground narrow-gauge railway, built around 1900, still carries goods up from the harbour, and the Mount is one of 43 unbridged tidal islands that can be reached on foot from mainland Britain.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-11