Top 10 Interesting Facts about St Michael’s Mount

Top 10 Interesting Facts about St Michael’s Mount

St. Michael’s Mount is a tidal island in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Within the island stands a mysterious fairytale like castle known as the St Michael Mount Castle.

Running St Michael’s Mountain is a joint partnership between the St Aubyn family and the National Trust. The St Aubyn family have a 999-year lease to inhabit the castle and a license to manage the public viewing of its historic rooms.

The mountain has many myths surrounding it, from tales of mermaids, giants, miracles, and angels. Below are some mind-blowing top 10 interesting facts about St Michael’s Mountain;

1. The mount was named an archangel

Statue of Archangel Michael – Flickr

Legend has it that the waters around the mount were filled with sirens who lured fishermen onto the rocks. They would also produce deafening screams and create storms that would sink ships. These evil enchantresses were a sailor’s greatest curse because they would make any sea voyage a fail.

Fortunately, an apparition of St Michael, the patron saint of fishermen, appeared on the western side of the island – below where the entrance to the castle is today – to ward fishermen from certain peril.

It is believed that St Michael saved many men this way. The mount was eventually named after him and the abbey was built in his honour.

2. The mount was a famous religious pilgrim site

St Michael’s Mount pilgrim steps – Flickr

The archangel St Michael legend brought pilgrims, monks and people of faith to the island, to pray, to praise and to celebrate.

It is reported that four miracles happened in the church in 1262 and 1263. These miracles came in the form of priests who miraculously recovered from fevers on their pilgrimage to the island. In addition, pilgrims also had visions of St Michael appearing to protect them when crossing to the island.

When word spread about these miracles, it led to an upsurge in the religious magnetism, increasing the numbers of pilgrims to make the tough journey to the priory on the island.

3. Original the mount was a forest

St Michael’s Mount, 10th Century – Wikipedia

St Michael’s Mount was once known as ‘Karrek Loos yn Koos’ a Cornish language name, which literally translates to “the grey rock in a wood”. This may represent a folk memory of a time before Mount’s Bay was flooded, indicating a description of the mount set in woodland.

To add to this, John of Worcester, writing in 1099, that St Michael’s Mount was located five or six miles from the sea, enclosed in a thick wood.

Remains of trees have been seen at low tides following storms on the beach at Perranuthnoe, but radiocarbon dating established the submerging of the hazel wood at about 1700 BC.

4. The island was gifted to the Benedictine Order by Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor – Wikipedia

In the 11^th century, Edward the Confessor gifted the site to the Benedictine Order with the vision of a Christian chapel. This was the same order that was residing at the Norman Benedictine Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel overseas in Normandy.

However, it wasn’t until a century later that the Benedictine priory and chapel were built and established for Bernard Le Bec. The community was then only a small one of around 12 monks who lived on the mount.

It was a destination for pilgrims, whose devotions were encouraged by an indulgence granted by Pope Gregory in the 11th century.

5. It was re-fortified with pillboxes in the Second World War

Old pill box on St_Michael’s Mount – Wikimedia Commons

The mount was re-fortified in 1940 with a number of machine gun pillboxes as part of the South Coast defences against possible German invasion. A pillbox was a concrete or brick lookout that was used for soldiers as a base.

St Levan, a member of the family that has owned St Michael Mount since 1659, recalls as a child how his grandparents lamented the pillboxes, dismissing them as eyesores, but now their roofs are covered with a carpet of mossy grass.

Three pillboxes can still be seen today on the shores of St Michael’s Mount in the tropical gardens.

6. The first sighting of the Spanish Armada was from the mount

Philip II of Spain – Wikipedia

It was from the Mount that the Spanish Armada was first spotted in 1588, and the beacon lit here was the first of many beacons that were lit across the south coast to warn others of the threatened invasion.

King Philip II of Spain sent the armada to England to overthrow the protestant Queen Elizabeth I from the throne.

The army was made up of 130 ships, 8,000 sailors, and 18,000 soldiers, it also had 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns.

7. Just like Moses parting The Red Sea

Michael’s Mount causeway – Wikipedia

St Michael’s Mount is one of 43 unbridged tidal islands that one can walk to from mainland Britain. The pathway is passable between mid-tide and low water, when the tide has completely parted and the causeway is dry to walk across.

The iconic stone paved pathway is around half a mile long and only takes you around 10-15 minutes to cross it. Many people take off their shoes and socks and paddle across when the water’s still 3-4 inches deep.

However, some studies indicate that any rise in ocean waters as well as existing natural erosion would put some Cornwall coast at risk, including St. Michael’s Mount.

8. It’s home to supernatural Ley Line energies that are very powerful

Michael’s ley line – Wikipedia

The age-old ley lines which course under the sea, and cross at the heart of the Mount, connects monasteries dedicated to the Archangel Michael in Europe and in the Middle East.

The aligned monasteries include Skellig Michael (Ireland), St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall (UK), Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy (France), Sacra di San Michele (Italy), Chiesa di San Galgano (Italy), Tempio di San Michele di Perugia (Italy), Santuario di San Michele del Gargano (Italy), Delphi (Greece), Island of Delos (Greece), Symi (Greece), Kourion (Cyprus), and Mount Carmel (Israel).

Another interesting thing is that the Sacred Line is perfectly aligned with the sunset on the day of the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice

9. The underground railway

St Michael’s Mount underground railway – Wikipedia

The underground railway was built by miners around 1900, and was and is still used to transport goods from the harbour up to the castle. This railway replaced the pack horses which had previously been used.

The line starts at the quay and then passes through the tunnel under the garden (cut and cover type) and eventually into the bedrock under the buildings to the top of the hill.

Its steep gradient renders it unsafe for passenger use; thus, the National Trust has made it out-of-bounds for public access.

10. A Site of Special Scientific Interest

St Michael’s Mount – Flickr

In 1995, the island’s seaward was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1995 for its geology. The rock exposures around St Michael’s Mount provide an opportunity to see many features of the geology of Cornwall in a single locality.

St Michael’s Mount granite is itself mineralised with a well-developed sheeted greisen vein system.