The Mermaid of Zennor

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Zennor folks tell the following story, which, according to them, accounts for a singular carving on a bench-end in their Church. Hundreds of years ago a very beautiful and richly attired lady attended service in Zennor Church occasionally—now and then she went to Morvah also; —her visits were by no means regular, —often long intervals would elapse between them.

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]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.

She took some notice of a fine young man, called Mathey Trewella, who was the best singer in the parish. He once followed her, but he never returned; after that she was never more seen in Zennor Church, and it might not have been known to this day who or what she was but for the merest accident. I first saw the Mermaid Chair when I was a teenager in the 1990s. At the time I was just discovering my passion for our unique and quirky Cornish culture. Now, some twenty-five years later the chair has lost none of its mystery or its ability to stir the imagination. Visitors are drawn to Zennor Church from all over the world by the legend of the Zennor Mermaid and by the magical story of the ancient Mermaid Chair. N.B. Dennys, The folk-lore of China, and its affinities with that of the Aryan Semitic races [electronic resource], London: Trübner, 1876, p. 115, ttps://archive.org/details/folkloreofchinai00denn [last accessed 18 February 2020]

The Doom Bar and the Mermaid of Padstow

In 2014 indie band The Hit Parade released their album Cornish Pop Songs featuring the song "Zennor Mermaid." [17] In a curious twist, the local arts writer who interviewed Hit Parade founder Julian Henry for The Cornishman was named "Lee Trewhela." [18]