The Mermaid of Zennor

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Others claim that on a summer’s evening, you can sometimes hear singing coming from the cave, believed to be the two lovers singing while the waves crash in. Many years ago, when people still believed in ghosts and monsters, a mysterious woman came to visit the church of Zennor. She had long, blonde hair and wore beautiful clothes, much nicer than all the people of the village. Whenever they sang songs in church, she had the most beautiful voice, and everyone else sang quietly so they could hear her better.

Zennor does not have a beach. The nearest beach is in St. Ives, about 4 miles away. Dogs Enjoy The Beach Too! her, she continued to look so young and fair. No one knew whence she came nor whither she went; yet many watched her as far as they could see from Tregarthen Hill. In 2014 singer/songwriter Martha Tilston released her album The Sea featuring the song "Mermaid of Zennor". The parish church of St Ives, St Ia, has similar deeply carved bench ends, also dating from around 500 years ago. But the Mermaid Chair is one of only two known carvings of a mermaids in Cornwall. The other was pointed out to me by Roy Reed:A ship bound for Penzance, and captained by a man who knew Zennor well, came by one day and anchored off Pendower Cove; she put out a boat to get some water from the shore. Soon a woman’s voice was heard calling urgently, “Ship! Ship ahoy!” and the watch, looking overboard, saw a mermaid with green eyes and tawny-gold hair swimming beside them. “Tell your captain to haul up your anchor,” she cried. “For ‘tis lodged against the door of my home on the sea-bed, and I can’t get in to my Mathy and children.” I’m not the only one endlessly fascinated by the story – since Cornish folklorist William Bottrell first recorded the mermaid’s tale/tail in 1873 there have been constant homages to the legend, from operas to poems and indie pop and folk songs. Mathy Trewhella, my husband, of course,” she said. “Now haul away, if you please.” The captain did not stay to argue, but brought up the anchor immediately. And with a swish from her long gleaming tail she was gone, diving down to the sea-bed and her family.

Mathew Trewhella is the modern form of the name; in Bottrell’s original tale of the Mermaid of Zennor it is written as ‘Mathey Trewella’. A variety of fish-tailed gods were worshipped by the first civilisations of the Middle East. The earliest known of these was Oannes, Lord of the Waters, who appeared some 7000 years ago. There are also fish-tailed gods in one form or another found in the legends and beliefs of countries as diverse as India, China, Japan and Greece. The legend of the mermaid of Zennor concerns a mermaid that visits St Senara's Church and entices local parish singer Mathey Trewella away. The legend was probably inspired by a 15th-century carved bench-end in the church that shows a mermaid. [19]Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great. When her son Budoc grew up they both set out to convert the people of Cornwall to Christianity. Alternative tales say she washed up in Zennor and founded the church before heading to Ireland. Some would think a mermaid, often seen as the epitome of sin in history, shouldn't be celebrated in a church, but in medieval times they were used to explain the human and divine nature of God. In its turn, the legend has inspired Vernon Watkins' poem "The Ballad of the Mermaid of Zennor", [20] Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Mermaid Chair, Cornish poet Charles Causley's book The Merrymaid of Zennor, the song "Mermaid" by Cornish folk singer Brenda Wootton, [21] the song "The Mermaid of Zennor" by English singer-songwriter Paul William Gibson, and Helen Dunmore's Ingo Chronicles. Zennor church is famous for a carved medieval chair, or bench end, displayed in the south side chapel. The carving is generally dated to between 1400-1500. The carving shows a mermaid carrying a comb and mirror. The pose is similar to classical depictions of the goddess of love and of the sea, Aphrodite. In the classical tradition, Aphrodite carries a quince (sometimes called a love apple).

So a few weeks ago, I went on holiday to visit my girlfriend, and this was actually the first time I met her in real life! Kidd, Sue Monk (3 February 2011). The Mermaid Chair. Headline. p.33. ISBN 978-0-7553-8518-8 . Retrieved 13 April 2012. Zennor is known for his medieval creation of a mermaid in St. Senara parish church. In addition to its traditional Cornish inhabitants, Zennor is one of the few places in the country where people still speak the language. Matthew Trewella, according to the Mermaid Legend, was a young man who possessed an astonishing singing voice, and an enchanting mermaid heard his voice. The Wayside Museum in Zennor is a Tardis of local history located in the heart of town. In addition to the historic mill, the museum contains over 5,000 artifacts. From 5000 years ago to the 1950s, objects from Zenor’s history can be found. During an outbreak of disease, a Plague Stone is stationed outside the museum. I will do no such thing!’ cried the captain. ‘You are a monster. You are the one who took Mathew Trewella away!’The legend lives on – one of Cornwall’s most famous literary sons, Charles Causley wrote the poem, The Mermaid of Zennor, and everyone from Brenda Wootton and Seth Lakeman to Martha Tilston and Hazel Simmons have sung folk versions of the tale. From: William Bottrell, Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall Volume Two (Beare and Son,1873) The church was dedicated to Saint Senara who legend has it was a Breton Princess also known as Asenora. Historical fact records little of her, but legends claim Asenora’s husband, a Breton King, suspected her of infidelity when she became pregnant. As a harsh punishment he had her nailed into a barrel and cast out to sea, where she eventually washed up on the Cornish shore. Notwithstanding she founded the church in Zennor so to bring Christianity to the local Celtic people, before moving on to Ireland to spread the word of God. It is fitting that the church is named after a woman who came to Cornwall from the sea, as St Senara’s Church is also the resting place of the last surviving relic of another local legend – The Mermaid of Zennor. The ‘Mermaid Chair’, which sits alone in a darkened corner of the church, is a seat made from two medieval bench ends. One of these ends bears a carving depicting a woman with long flowing hair and a fish tail. Locals say the carving was made around 400 years ago in memory of a man named Matthew Trewhella, who, so the story goes, ran off to sea with a mermai. [2] Centenary events will celebrate DH Lawrence's time in Zennor". westbriton.co.uk. 5 September 2016 . Retrieved 11 September 2016.