The Mermaid of Zennor

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At least, that was what people saw. In the next moment, a cloud of fog arrived, and when it disappeared, Mathew and the mysterious woman were nowhere to be seen. The "mermaid chair" at St. Senara's Church can be seen to this day, and together with the accompanying legend, is one of the popular attractions mentioned in tourist guides to Cornwall. [3] The story of the mermaid is retold in later collections of Cornish folklore, generally following the original accounts collected by Bottrell. [4] In The Fabled Coast, the "mermaid chair" is described as a fifteenth-century carving. Kingshill and Westwood suppose that the bench itself inspired the legend, rather than the other way around, as the villagers related. [5] There are many reasons as to why there might have been a mermaid carved into a chair at a church, as mermaids represented two things to medieval Christians. They were thought to be a symbol of lust, due to their connection with the Greek goddess Aphrodite, and they were also thought to be an illustration of Jesus Christ, because of their fish-human form, for, just as mermaids are both human-like and fish-like, Jesus can be both human and divine. [6] Adaptations [ edit ] This hauntingly beautiful poem is just over 100 lines long, and the simple alternating rhyme pattern has the effect of imitating the movement of waves breaking gently onto sand. A particularly interesting aspect of the poem is that it is structured as a dialogue between Matthew Trewhella and the mermaid herself, whereas in most incarnations of the tale, whether prose, poetry, or song, the narrative is from the perspective of either one character (usually Matthew) or, more commonly, an outside narrator. Watkins’ poem has a much sadder and darker tone than Causley’s cheerfully magical book, reflecting how the same story can have a hundred different meanings depending on the telling. The Tinners Arms can be found right in the centre of the Zennor, a stone’s throw away from the church and the car park.

In Bottrell’s An Vorvoren a Senar (that’s The Mermaid of Zennor in Cornish if you hadn’t already translated / worked it out) a choir boy and local squire’s son called Matthew Trewhella would sing in St Senara’s church every Sunday. Five or six times this unknown lady came to Zennor church, always on a fine day, and always she sat far apart from the congregation, watching Mathy and listening to every note he sang. Her eyes seemed to look right through him, and her gaze somehow reminded him of the dim light in caves under sea. He determined that somehow he would find out who she was. 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. Rita Tregellas Pope, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly (Landmark Visitors Guide, Hunter Publishing, 2006), p. 127.According to local lore, in times long, long ago a beautiful and richly dressed woman would occasionally attend services at the church. She would appear from time to time over the course of many years, but never seemed to age. Locals noted her beauty and her lovely singing voice, but no one knew where she came from. Eventually, the mysterious woman came to fancy the churchwarden’s son, a young man named Mathew Trewella. One day Matthew followed her home, and the two were never seen again. Long ago, a beautiful and richly dressed woman occasionally attended services at St. Senara's Church in Zennor, and sometimes at Morvah. The parishioners were enchanted by her beauty and her voice, for her singing was sweeter than all the rest. She appeared infrequently for scores of years, but never seemed to age, and nobody knew whence she came, although they watched her from the summit of Tregarthen Hill. After many years, the mysterious woman became interested in a young man named Mathey Trewella, [i] "the best singer in the parish." One day he followed her home, and disappeared; neither was ever seen again in Zennor Church. Carve means to use a knife in wood to make shapes out of it. So you might carve a pipe, a bird or a toy out of wood. You can also carve your name into a tree, for example. Some people like to carve the name of themselves and their lover into a tree and carve a heart around it. On Halloween, people carve faces into pumpkins, and on Thanksgiving or at Christmas, people carve turkeys, they cut up turkeys, and eat them.

Others say that while she was out on the ocean a-fishing of a Sunday morning, the anchor was dropped on the trap-door which gave access to her submarine abode. Finding, on her return, how she was hindered from opening her door, she begged the captain to have the anchor raised that she might enter her dwelling to dress her children and be ready in time for church.A big thank-you to my new patrons: Magdalena and Silvia Mazzeo. Thank you so much. Your support really means a lot to me.

The captain tried to explain that Mathew looked quite happy with his life, but the people wouldn’t listen. Kidd, Sue Monk (3 February 2011). The Mermaid Chair. Headline. p.33. ISBN 978-0-7553-8518-8 . Retrieved 13 April 2012. The 600-year-old Mermaid Chair in St Senara's Church in Zennor (Image: August Schwerdfeger / Wikipedia Commons) Some stories say that it was love at first sight between the unknown woman and Mathew, while others say that it was their equally enthralling voices that sparked the romance, as it was said that Mathew had the best singing voice in the village. However it happened, after their first meeting, Mathew followed his love home and was never seen again.

Helford is frequently mentioned as the best place to live in Cornwall. It is an extremely popular tourist destination because it is home to royalty and artisans. It is one of the most remote locations in the Duchy. Pete Townshend, lead guitarist for The Who, has been a resident of this area since the late Roger Taylor. It’s a good idea to stop by Helford on a typical visit and catch a glimpse of kingfishers and yachts cruising along the Helford River. After a Queen show, you may be able to take a break in the Shipwrights Arms next to Taylor for a beer. Despite its small population, the village has a strong sense of community, anchored by the pub. V. Watkins, Affinities, London: Faber and Faber, 1962. See http://literaryballadarchive.com/PDF/Watkinson_Mermaid _of_Z_f.pdf The squire’s son and “best singer in the parish” who left solid West Cornwall ground for a life in the briny was called Matthew Trewhella, or Mathey Trewella. As a Trewhela (my lot dropped the extra l and changed the pronunciation somewhere along the line), it’s always been a source of pride that my ancestor fell in love with a mermaid. 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] In fact, the tale was first recorded by William Bottrell in 1873. Adding weight to modern folklorist Jennifer Westwood’s theory that the carving inspired the legend not the other way around.