ZENNOR IS VERY close to Lands End. Its granite church is part Norman and part 13 to 15^th century, and dedicated to a Cornish saint, Senara. Legend has it that the church was established by her when she arrived from Ireland in the 12^th century. What makes the church special is a carving on the end of an old timber pew, which is about 400 years old. The carving depicts a mermaid holding a comb in one hand and a round mirror in the other one. One version of this mermaid’s story goes as follows:

“Many years ago a richly dressed and beautiful lady occasionally attended the church at Zennor. Nobody knew who she was or where she came from, but her unusual beauty and lovely voice made her the subject of much discussion. With such beauty, the lady had no shortage of want-to-be suitors in the village. One of these local men was Mathew Trewella, a handsome young fellow with the best singing voice in the village. He took it upon himself to discover who this beautiful stranger was. After a service one Sunday, the lady had smiled at Matthew Trewella so he had decided to follow her as she made her way off and towards the cliffs. Years passed and Matthew Trewella’s unexplained disappearance faded into the past. Then one Sunday morning a ship cast anchor off Pendower Cove near Zennor. The vessel’s captain was sitting on deck when he heard a beautiful voice hailing him from the sea. Looking over the side of the ship he saw a beautiful mermaid, with her long, blonde hair flowing all around her. She asked him if he would be so kind as to raise his anchor as it was resting upon the doorway of her house. She explained was anxious to get back to her husband, Mathew, and her children. For it turns out that the beautiful stranger from the church was in fact one of the daughters of Llyr, king of the ocean, a mermaid by the name of Morveren. Warey of stories of Mermaids the captain weighed anchor and headed for deeper water fearing the mermaid would bring the ship bad luck. He did, however, return later to tell the townsfolk of the fate of Matthew.” (www.cornwalls.co.uk/myths-legends/mermaids.htm)

The carving commemorates the mermaid and Matthew, her admirer.