Acton Castle

Acton Castle

Acton Castle is a Grade II* listed building overlooking St Michael’s Mount in west Cornwall. Perched high on the side of Mount’s Bay, it commands an unrivalled view of the bay from Lizard to the Tater Dhu lighthouse. From here, you can see the Isles of Scilly on a clear day.

Built in 1775 as a country house, Acton Castle was created to command the view over Mount’s Bay, one of Cornwall’s most dramatic and beautiful stretches of coastline. A fascinating part of local heritage and a building listed by Historic England, today Acton Castle comprises seven unique and exclusive dwellings.

Acton Castle was built in 1775 for John Stackhouse – a marine biologist before such a profession existed. Working extensively in the area he conducted fieldwork and ground-breaking analysis and categorisation of seaweed. The architect was John Wood the Younger – who had recently completed designs for the world- famous Royal Crescent in Bath. Cornwall’s most famous real-life smuggler “The King of Prussia” (real name John Carter) was for a time also caretaker of Acton Castle.

There are said to be smuggler’s tunnels running from the castle to the coast — although these have never been found. Find out more about the fascinating story of John Carter here. Of course, all of this was happening at the same time as the fictitious Poldark stories were taking place — and indeed many of the plotlines in Poldark can easily be imagined right here!

Cornwall Multi-Entry Multi-Directional Visitors Guide © Simon Newbound