Mousehole (; ) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about offshore from the harbour entrance. Mousehole lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 27% of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park. History The first mention of the village of Mousehole is in 1283 and the first mention of Portheness is in 1267. Although usually thought of as the same place, a document from 1309 names Porthenys juxta Mousehole (i.e. next to Mousehole), implying two separate places. Compare with nearby Newlyn which is separated by a stream from Tolcarne and both were once considered individual places. There is also a 1339 document naming Porthengrous juxta Porthenes (harbour by the cross, next to the harbour by the island). If the amount of tax collected is indicative of how important a place was, in the 14th century, tax collected on the number of fishing boats from Mousehole was £5. Nearby Marazion paid £1 6s 8d, Newlyn £1, Penzance 12s and Porthgwarra and Penberth 12s. There were three medieval chapels, including the one on St Clement's island. In 1383 a chapel was dedicated to ″the Blessed Virgin Mary″ and was in ruins by 1414 due to storms. It was rebuilt around 1420 and finally destroyed during the Reformation. Another chapel was licensed in 1441 and dedicated to St Edward the Confessor. Records show that pilchards were exported to France as early as 1302, and in the late 18th century there were five seines and 55 boats based in the harbour. In the 1880s there was still a drift pilchard fishery and in the autumn around sixty boats fished in the North Sea. Along with Marazion, it was until the 16th century one of the principal ports of Mount's Bay. Before its decline as a major commercial centre, Mousehole also had a number of fairs and markets, including the charter for a market on Tuesdays, with a fair for three days at the festival of St Barnabas, granted to Henry de Tyes in 1292. Mousehole, like many communities in Mount's Bay, fell within the authority of the Manor of Alverton; all early charters, fairs etc. associated with Mousehole are associated with this