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Zennor (; (village) or (parish)) is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about north of
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
,Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. Alphabetically, the parish is the last in Britain. Its name comes from the Cornish name for the local saint, Saint Senara. Zennor Head is a coastal promontory north of the village. The cliffs rise over from the sea and the highest point of the headland is above sea level. The village itself is at an elevation of around . Zennor lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with similar status and protection as a National Park. Frank Baker's 1956 novel ''Talk of the Devil'' is set in Zennor and deals with fictionalised versions of
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
and some of his associates.
Helen Dunmore Helen Dunmore FRSL (12 December 1952 – 5 June 2017) was a British poet, novelist, and short story and children's writer. Her best known works include the novels ''Zennor in Darkness'', ''A Spell of Winter'' and ''The Siege (Dunmore novel) , ...
's 1993 novel '' Zennor in Darkness'' is set in and around the village in 1917 when
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...
lived nearby. Zennor is also mentioned in the '' Ulysses Moore'' series of books, written by Pierdomenico Baccalario; in fact, near Zennor and St Ives there would be the mysterious hamlet of ''Kilmore Cove'', the place where the series is mainly set.


Local government

For the purposes of local government Zennor elects a parish council of seven members every three years. Higher functions are exercised by
Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...
. Until March 2009 the parish was included in the former
Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...
Council District.


History and antiquities

Antiquities include the megalithic burial chambers Zennor Quoit and Sperris Quoit, apart, about east of the village. There is a prehistoric entrance grave at Pennance known as the Giant's House and not far away are four round barrows. Gurnard's Head, or Trereen Dinas, is an
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
promontory fort (or cliff castle) with five lines of fortification, and a mile to the west is Bosigran, close to Treen (), a second promontory fort along with a surviving field system, suggested by
Henry Jenner Henry Jenner (8 August 1848 – 8 May 1934) was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornwall, Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival. Jenner was born at St Columb Major on 8 August 1848. H ...
to mean ,
King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
's mother in
Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...
. Between 1915 and 1917, writer
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...
lived near the village with his new wife Frieda. It was during this time that he finished ''
Women in Love ''Women in Love'' is a 1920 novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel, '' The Rainbow'' (1915), and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an arti ...
''. The couple were later accused of spying and signalling to German submarines off the Cornish coast and in late 1917, after constant harassment by the armed forces authorities, Lawrence was forced to leave Cornwall at three days' notice under the terms of the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA). This persecution was later described in an autobiographical chapter of his Australian novel ''
Kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
'', published in 1923. In September 2016 events were held to celebrate the centenary of Lawrence's connection with Zennor. In 1943, the middle of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, No. 4 Commando were involved in a mock seaborne raid codenamed "Exercise Brandyball", which took place on the cliffs, near Bosigran, known as the 'Brandys'. The training exercise was deemed one of the most hazardous and challenging of the war, beginning with a seaborne landing, followed by a climb up the vertical cliffs with full kit to destroy the target, an old disused
tin mine Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...
. On the rehearsal day of 6 June, the weather was not good and one of the boats sank with the loss of two commandos. These events were filmed by Allied officers, as observers from all the services were present, including General
Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...
. The archives are now held in the
Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...
. The following day the men decided the operation should continue, and it was successfully completed on 7 June.


Parish Church of St Senara

The Church of St Senara is partly Norman and partly of the 13th and 15th centuries (the north aisle 15th century). There is a west tower and the octagonal
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
may be from the 13th century. One of only two remaining bench ends portrays the Mermaid of Zennor. Little is known of St Senara, although legend connects her to Princess Asenora of
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. There are three Cornish crosses in the parish: one is in the vicarage garden and two are in the churchyard. Those in the churchyard are fixed on the tombstone of the Rev. William Borlase, Vicar of Zennor (died 1888).
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
intelligence officer Vera Atkins was cremated after her death and the ashes scattered in the churchyard. Her memorial plaque, shared with her brother Guy, has the inscription: "Vera May Atkins, CBE
Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
".


Culture and amenities


Late Cornish language use

The village of Boswednack was home to a small community of Cornish speakers during the 19th century. These included John Davey Jnr., 1812–1891 and his father, as well as Anne Berryman (1766–1854), and John Mann (1834–1914). John Mann recalled in an interview that, when a child, he and several other children always conversed in Cornish while at play together. It is from John Davey that we know the Cranken Rhyme, probably the last recorded piece of traditional late Cornish verse.


The mermaid of Zennor

The legend of the mermaid of Zennor concerns a
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...
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. In its turn, the legend has inspired
Vernon Watkins Vernon Phillips Watkins (27 June 1906 – 8 October 1967) was a Welsh poet and translator. His headmaster at Repton was Geoffrey Fisher, who became Archbishop of Canterbury. Despite his parents being Nonconformists, Watkins' school experience ...
' poem "The Ballad of the Mermaid of Zennor", Sue Monk Kidd's novel ''
The Mermaid Chair ''The Mermaid Chair'' is a 2005 novel written by American novelist Sue Monk Kidd, which has also been adapted as a Lifetime movie. Synopsis ''The Mermaid Chair'' is the tale of Jessie Sullivan, a middle-aged woman whose stifled dreams and des ...
'', Cornish poet Charles Causley's book ''The Merrymaid of Zennor'', the song "Mermaid" by Cornish folk singer Brenda Wootton, the song "The Mermaid of Zennor" by English singer-songwriter Paul William Gibson, and
Helen Dunmore Helen Dunmore FRSL (12 December 1952 – 5 June 2017) was a British poet, novelist, and short story and children's writer. Her best known works include the novels ''Zennor in Darkness'', ''A Spell of Winter'' and ''The Siege (Dunmore novel) , ...
's '' Ingo Chronicles''.


Amenities

As well as a
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, the Tinner's Arms, next to it is a guesthouse


Carne Cottage

Carne Cottage is one of a number of abandoned buildings in the area. It is claimed that the cottage used to belong to the
occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
in the 1930s, although there is no evidence that Crowley ever owned the cottage, or ever even visited it. It is claimed that the death of Katherine Laird Cox, on 23 May 1938, was connected with Crowley and the cottage, but again, there is a lack of evidence to support this and it is likely to be an urban myth. Additionally, this story – which includes the claim that Gerald Vaughan had gone mad – is disputed. As Antoni Diller has pointed out, whilst Gerald's wife Ellaline was known to suffer from hallucinations, there is no evidence that Gerald went mad. In fact, he went on to become an editor of ''
Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
'', an anarchist newspaper based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.


Patrick Heron

Patrick Heron Patrick Heron (30 January 1920 – 20 March 1999) was a British abstract and figurative artist, critic, writer, and polemicist, who lived in Zennor, Cornwall. Heron was recognised as one of the leading painters of his generation. Influenced ...
lived in Cornwall until the age of nine and he returned in 1956 to live at "", overlooking the cliffs near Zennor. Many of the sharp-edged shapes in his artistic works are reminiscent of the aged Cornish coastline, while the rounded shapes recall the granite boulders in his own garden. He died peacefully at his home in Zennor in March 1999, at the age of 79, and many of his works are displayed at the
Tate St Ives Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists with links to the St Ives area. The Tate also took over management of another museum in the town, the Barbara Hepworth Mu ...
art gallery.Patrick Heron, St Ives painter


Gallery

Image:Zennor_Church1.JPG, Zennor Church Image:Zennor_Church2.JPG, Zennor Church from the northeast Image:Mermaid Chair.jpg, Zennor Church (interior, with Mermaid Chair) Image:Zennor Quoit (small) (9612120).jpg, Zennor Quoit, about a mile southeast of Zennor village Image:Zennor_Head1.JPG, View to the east from Zennor Head Image:Zennor_Head2.JPG, View to the west from Zennor Head Image:Zennor_Head3.JPG, Zennor Head in the evening Image:The pine, the pub sign and the church - Zennor - geograph.org.uk - 1807780.jpg, The pine, the pub sign and the church


Notable people

* Henry Quick (1792–1857), poet who wrote about rural life in Cornwall. * John Davey (1812–1891), farmer who was one of the last people with knowledge of the
Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh language, Welsh and Breton language, Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, ...
. * Susanna Heron (born 1949) a site-specific artist in stone relief, grew up locally


References


The Mermaid of Zennor
Cornishculture


Further reading

*Symons, Alison (1992) ''Tremedda Days: a view of Zennor, 1900–44''. Tabb House


External links


Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Zennor

Zennor at genuki.org.ukparish council website
{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall National Trust properties in Cornwall