The Mermaid of Zennor

Description

The Mermaid of Zennor

A Cornish legend

In the little moorland village of Zennor, on the windswept coast of Cornwall, not far from St Ives, stands the ancient granite church of St Senara where long, long ago, legend tells us, two people fell in love. One was a handsome young Cornish man, Matthew Trewhella and the other was a mysterious mermaid, captivated by his heavenly singing voice.

The legend of the Mermaid of Zennor was first written down by William Bottrell, a collector of Cornish folktales in 1873. However, the mermaid carved into the ancient oak pew in St Senara Church is more than four hundred years old, so the story could be far older.

If you visit the church today, you can still see the mermaid chair.