Marazion, United Kingdom

To remedy the loss incurred by this measure, Ralph Bloyou procured for himself and his heirs a market on Mondays and a fair on the vigil, feast, and morrow of St Andrew at Marghasyon in 1331. In Leland's time, the market was held at Marhasdeythyow (Forum Jovis); both Norden (1582) and Carew (1602) tell us that Marcajewe signifies the Thursday's market, which, whether etymologically sound or not, shows that the prior's market had prevailed over its rival.

Marazion was once a flourishing town, owing its prosperity to the throng of pilgrims who came to visit St Michael's Mount, but it largely ceased to be a place of pilgrimage at the Reformation. During the first half of the 16th century, Marazion was twice plundered; first by the French in 1513 and later by Cornish rebels in 1549.

In 1595, Elizabeth I granted Marazion its own charter of incorporation, making it a borough. This ratified the grant of St Andrew's fair, provided for another on the Feast of St Barnabas and established a market on Saturdays. The corporation established by the 1595 charter consisted of a mayor, eight aldermen and twelve capital burgesses. Of the fairs, only the Michaelmas fair has survived and all the markets have gone.

The borough of Marazion briefly served as a constituency during the Commonwealth period in the 1650s, with the right to return two members of parliament. Richard Myll and Thomas Westlake were elected in 1658, but the inhabitants petitioned against them taking their seats because they were unable to pay expenses for their attendance.

The A394 road between Marazion, Helston and Penryn was once run by Helston Turnpike Roads Trust, which charged tolls for using the road. On 1 November 1880, the Trust put the toll houses at Marazion and Wendron up for auction, as well as ″materials″ such as granite posts, chains and gates. The charging of tolls ended on 7 November 1880 and the road came under the management of the County.

The Penwith area, which includes Marazion, was one of the last areas where the Cornish language survived as the vernacular language of the population, but the number of native speakers gradually diminished as the population adopted the English language. A John Nancarrow from Marazion, who survived into the 1790s, was said to be one of the last known native speakers of Cornish.

The West Cornwall Railway opened Marazion railway station on 11 March 1852 and its goods yard handled a large volume of perishable traffic, including fish, fruit, and vegetables, from the surrounding farms and harbours. Marazion station closed to passenger traffic in October 1964 and to freight in December 1965. For many years, the site of the closed station was home to Pullman railway carriages which were used as camping coaches. The site, though not conveniently located, lies on the Cornish Main Line, so there are aspirations to reopen it.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened Marazion Lifeboat Station in 1990, although the D-class (EA16) inshore lifeboat was actually kept in a shed on the quayside on St Michael's Mount. The station was closed on 31 October 2001, as it was proving difficult to find enough volunteer crew members. The boat was transferred to the neighbouring Penlee Lifeboat Station at Newlyn on the other side of Mounts Bay where there is a larger population to draw the crews from.

At the end of the Second World War, a number of naval vessels, including the battleship HMS Warspite, were broken up on the beaches at Marazion. HMS Warspite was beached and broken up in 1947.

In 2021, the town received a brief spike in publicity after submitting itself in a competition for city status held as part of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Marazion subsequently withdrew from the competition after the government decided the bid needed the support of Cornwall Council to proceed, which it did not have.

In March 2026, it was reported that the town had applied to become the first UK Town of Culture in 2028.