Zennor

Zennor is a small settlement close to the coast in Cornwall, and is home to the Tinner’s Arms pub, a museum and church.
The Tinner’s Arms is the only pub in Zennor and was built in 1271 to accommodate the masons who constructed St. Senara’s Church, which is famous for its mermaid.
D.H. Lawrence stayed here during the 1914-18 war with his German wife.

Mathew Trewella was a young man with a good voice and he would sing the closing hymn in St. Senara’s Church.
A mermaid living in neighbouring Pendour Cove was enchanted by the music. She dressed in a long dress to hide her tail and “walked” to the church. She came every day to listen. On one of these visits her gaze met Mathew’s, and they fell in love. The mermaid also knew she had to go back to the sea, or she would die.
As she prepared to leave, Mathew said, “Please do not leave, who are you, where are you from?”
The mermaid told him that she was a creature from the sea, and that she must go back. Mathew was so love-struck that he swore he would follow her wherever she went. Mathew carried her to the cove, and followed her beneath the waves, never to be seen again.

It is said that if you sit above Pendour Cove at sunset on a fine summer evening, you might hear Mathew singing faintly on the breeze.

The world's most beautiful mermaid?

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