The Church Of Saint Michael

The Church of Saint Michael is a priory church, later serving as a parish church and now a chapel, dating back to approximately 1135. Initially built for Bernard of Le Bec, it was largely rebuilt in the 14th century following damage from an earthquake in 1275, with some 15th-century additions and a restoration undertaken by Piers St Aubyn around the late 19th century. The church is constructed of granite ashlar and granite rubble with granite dressings, and has dry Delabole slate roofs over the nave and a higher roof over the chancel and choir. It includes embattled parapets. The plan incorporates a nave, a central tower, and a choir/chancel, with an organ located at the west end. A former Lady Chapel, adjoining the northeast corner, was converted into part of the house (St Michael's Mount) around 1760, and the church also adjoins the house at the west end. The tower features a staircase in the northeast corner, leading to a medieval lantern cross, known as 'St Michaels' Chair', at the top. The walls are notably thick, built directly upon bedrock. A cellar beneath the southeast corner revealed a 7-foot-long human skeleton during excavation. Externally, the church displays 14th-century and earlier walls, along with 14th or 15th-century windows and doorways. Parapets and copings were rebuilt in the 19th century. The tower is divided into two stages, with the upper stage rising above the nave/chancel parapet. The north wall has four two-light traceried windows – two for the chancel, one for the tower's upper stage, and one for the chancel. Three north doorways provide access to the crypt (far left), chancel, and the main nave entrance; the chancel and nave doorways are approached by steps. The nave doorway is constructed of freestone with a square head within a steep four-centred arch, and is fronted by an 1826 balustrade incorporating a medieval cross. The tower is pierced by two-light windows with louvred lights. The east gable has a rose window above two two-light windows. The south wall mirrors the north wall in window arrangement, and the west gable features a square rose window. Internally, the church has a 15th-century roof structure, restored in the 19th century. The interior is unplastered, with a stone flagged floor. Fittings include a carved Norman capital used as a font, a fine 19th-century reredos incorporating 15th-century alabaster panels, bells originally dating from 1385 and 1408 (restored in 1906), and a turret clock of circa 1780, housed in the tower. The church contains significant amounts of fine 16th and 17th-century stained glass. The organ was built in 1786 by John Avery of Bristol.