At Michael's Mount

​St Michael's mount is a tidal island, 500 metres via cobbled causeway from the small village of Marazion..

From as far back as 495AD, tales tell of seafarers lured by mermaids onto the rocks, or guided to safety by an apparition of St Michael, the patron saint of fishermen, who appeared on the western side of the island to ward fishermen from certain peril.

St Michael's Mount may have been the site of a monastery from the 8th to the early 11th centuries. Edward the Confessor (ruled from 1042 -1066) gifted the site to the Benedictine order of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. They remained linked until the war in France by Henry V, when it was then given to the Convent of Syon (Middlesex) in 1424. 

In the 11th century it became a destination for pilgrims who were encouraged by indulgences granted by Pope Gregory. The earliest buildings on the summit, including the church, priory within the heart of the castle, date to the 12th century.I

Four miracles are refuted to have occurred here during 1262 and 1263 therefore increasing religious magnetism for pilgrimage.

St Michael's Mount has featured in significant historical events:

​In 1193 it was seized by Henry La Pomeray who disguised his men as pilgrims;

During the Wars of the Roses in 1473 the Mount was held by the Earl of Oxford;

​The first beacon was lit of the series that warned London of the approach of the Spanish Armada (1588).

During the Civil War (1642 -1651) Royalists valiantly held back the forces of Oliver Cromwell.

The Mount's cannons drove a Napoleonic ship to its capture on Marazion beach (1803 - 1805);

I had to take a photo of the above shop entrance as it ticked a lot of memory boxes.  Paul and I were reminiscing about childhood holidays to Devon and Cornwall and the excitement of getting buckets, spades, floats, nets, dried-out starfish, shells and all manner of tat (as my Dad would say).  Great fun!