Cornwall and its History at Cornish-Links. Legends - Myths

The Mermaid of Zennor

Lying midway between St. Ives and Pendeen on the north coast of the Penwith Peninsula lies the small moorland village of Zennor. A short way north of the village lies the spectacular Pendour Cove.

A local legend tells us of the story of one Mathew Trewella and his love for a mermaid. Mathew was a fine young man with a voice to match his good looks. Every evening Mathew would sing the closing hymn at Zennor church alone - this was to be his undoing. A mermaid, half-woman half fish, was entranced by the wonderful music from the village above her home at Pendour Cove. She listened to Mathew's voice with increasing interest until one day should could stand it no longer. She had to see who was making this beautiful music. The mermaid dressed herself in a long dress, taking care to conceal her long tail and walked awkwardly up to the church. At first she just marvelled at the singing before slipping away to return beneath the waves before the ebb-tide. After a few more visits, she became bolder and waited longer. It was on this visit that her gaze met with Mathew's and the pair fell madly in love. The call of the sea was too strong however and the mermaid knew that she must return to her home or face certain death. She turned to leave but Mathew called after her 'Please do not leave, who are you, where are you from?'. The mermaid explained that she was a creature from the sea and that she must return now. Already deeply in love with her, Mathew told her that wherever she went he would follow. Carrying her, Mathew ran down to the cove and followed her beneath the waves. Neither were seen again. It is said however that if you sit above the cove at twilight on a fine summer's evening you might just catch Mathew singing faintly on the breeze. Why not visit the church of St. Senara to see the carved bench end (over 500 years old) depicting the mermaid.

Mermaids form another cornerstone of folklore, as you might suspect for a seafaring people. The Mermaid of Padstow is said to be responsible for the Doom Bar outside the port, upon which hundreds of ships have foundered.

The Lady of the Lake

Dozmary Pool is a natural moorland lake situated to the south of Bolventor on Bodmin Moor. Once it was home of ancient man, who has left remnants of his presence in the shape of hut circles and other prehistoric remains. Local folk long believed that the strange, mysterious Pool was bottomless and had a whirlpool in the centre. It is hardly surprising, that it has become an integral part of two major Cornish legends.
John Tregagle, the evil disciple of the Devil was doomed to bail out the endless waters of Dozmary Pool with a leaking limpet shell for eternity, in penance for his crimes. It was into the depths of Dozmary pool, so legend tells us, that King Arthur's sword Excalibur was cast by his loyal lieutenant Sir Bedivere on the orders of the dying King. A hand and arm rose up from the surface of the lake, clad in the white samite, caught the sword and drew it underneath never to be seen again.

The Lost Land of Lyonesse

There are many legends of towns and countries submerged beneath the waves, but the legend of the lost land of Lyonesse is possibly the most famous. Lyonesse, we are told, was once a country beyond Land's End that boasted fine cities and 140 churches then, on November 11th 1099 a great storm blew up and the marauding sea swept over it, drowning the luckless inhabitants and submerging the kingdom beneath the waves, until all that remained to view were the mountain peaks to the west, known to us now as the Isles of Scilly. Only one man survived. His name was Trevilian and he rode a white horse up to high ground at Perranuthnoe before the waves could overwhelm him.
A 16th century writer tells us that Land's End once stretched far to the west with a watchtower at the farthest point to guide sailors. The rocks known as the Seven Stones were believed to be the remains of a great city, called "The Town" by sailors, who told of dragging up window, doors and other domestic items in their nets.They also related how they had heard the church bells of Lyonesse ringing beneath the waves.
As late as the 1930's a journalist from the News Chronicle, Stanley Baron, was awoken in the night by the muffled ringing of bells and was told by his hosts that he had heard the bells of Lyonesse. A former mayor of Wilton, Edith Oliver, claimed she had twice seen towers, domes, spires and battlements beneath the waves whilst standing on the cliffs at Lands End. It is a rough and rocky sea and many a mariner has met his doom there, so it is not hard to believe that, like most legends, there is an element of truth in it.