More information : (SW 51452983) St Michael's Mount (NR) (and remains
of) (NAT) Priory (NR) (Benedictine) (NAT) (1)
There was a Celtic monastery on St. Michael's Mount from the
8th century which was given by Edward the Confessor (1047-66)
to the Abbey of Mont Saint Michel in Normandy as an alien
Benedictine cell. In 1135 the Norman abbot was present at the
consecration of the church (SW 52 NW 3) which had been
built together with conventual accommodation for a prior and
twelve monks from the parent house.
Henry of Pomeroy was apparently the first to fortify the Mount,
which he seized for a time in the reign of Richard I, expelling
the monks and making it into a secular fortress. The
fortifications probably remained the property of the monks
until about 1337 when the Mount may have received its first
official garrison Henry V transferred the priory in 1425 to his
new monastery of Syon, near Brentford as a chantry or small
cottage for three secular priests from which time, although it
was still visited by pilgrims, it was primarily a garrisoned
fortress.
It was given to Humphry Arundell at the Dissolution, being then
defended by three soldiers with armaments. When owned by the
Earl of Salisbury between 1612 and 1641 the Mount had a
governor and a garrison of twelve.
There was a strong garrison of Royalists during the Civil War
who, after repairing the defences, held it until it was taken
by seige in 1646. John St Aubyn purchased the Mount in 1659 when it became a private residence.
The Refectory is now known as the 'Chevy Chase Room' and the chapel
of St. Mary, our Lady is now represented by the drawing room
entered from the yard. The lodgings of the priests and military
captains are incorporated into the present residence to the
west. (2-11)
Early masonry is visible on the south and west sides. On the
west face the only major architectural detail is the doorway,
all windows being replacements. On the east there is a crude
retaining arch over a blocked window and two possibly original
windows in the Chevy Chase Room, SW 51452983. (12)
See photograph.
The refectory was constructed by Abbot Bernard in the 12th century, with the roof renewed in the 15th and restored in the 19th. The Lady Chapel was described as 'newly built' by William of Worcester in 1478 and was in ruins by 1762. It was described by Dr Borlase in 1762 as having at least one chamber and a small chapel at the east end. The captains' and priests' lodgings on the north and west side of the church are present in the section of the building most affected by later conversions. Few traces of the original accommodation survive. Grade 1. (13) |