Zennor
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 Zennor from Trewey Hill | |
  Zennor Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 196 (civil parish,2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SW458384 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ST. IVES |
| Postcode district | TR26 |
| Dialling code | 01736 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°11′31″N5°34′05″W / 50.192°N 5.568°W /50.192; -5.568 | |
Zennor (/ˈzɛnər/;Cornish:Eglossenar (village) orPluw Senar (parish))[1] is a village andcivil parish inCornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor,Boswednack andPorthmeor and the hamlet ofTreen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about 6 miles (10 km) north ofPenzance,[2] along theB3306 road which connectsSt Ives to theA30 road. Alphabetically, the parish is the last in Britain. Its name comes from theCornish name for the local saint,Saint Senara.[3]
Zennor Head is a coastal promontory north of the village. The cliffs rise over 60 metres (200 ft) from the sea and the highest point of the headland is 96 metres (314 ft) above sea level.[2] The village itself is at an elevation of around 110 metres (360 ft).
Zennor lies within theCornwall 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 novelTalk of the Devil is set in Zennor and deals with fictionalised versions ofAleister Crowley and some of his associates.Helen Dunmore's 1993 novelZennor in Darkness is set in and around the village in 1917 whenD. H. Lawrence lived nearby. Zennor is also mentioned in theUlysses Moore series of books, written byPierdomenico Baccalario; in fact, near Zennor andSt Ives there would be the mysterious hamlet ofKilmore Cove, the place where the series is mainly set.
For the purposes of local government Zennor elects a parish council of seven members every three years.[4] Higher functions are exercised byCornwall Council. Until March 2009 the parish was included in the formerPenwith Council District.
Antiquities include themegalithic burial chambersZennor Quoit andSperris Quoit, 400 yards (370 m) apart, about 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the village.[5] There is aprehistoric entrance grave atPennance known as the Giant's House and not far away are fourround barrows.Gurnard's Head, or Trereen Dinas, is anIron Agepromontory fort (or cliff castle) with five lines of fortification, and a mile to the west isBosigran, close toTreen (Cornish:Tredhin), a second promontory fort along with a surviving field system,[6] suggested byHenry Jenner to mean'the Dwelling ofIgerna',King Arthur's mother inArthurian legend.[7]
Between 1915 and 1917, writerD. H. Lawrence lived near the village with his new wifeFrieda. It was during this time that he finishedWomen in Love. 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 theDefence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA). This persecution was later described in an autobiographical chapter of his Australian novelKangaroo, published in 1923. In September 2016 events were held to celebrate the centenary of Lawrence's connection with Zennor.[8]
In 1943, the middle ofWorld War II,No. 4 Commando were involved in a mock seaborne raid codenamed "Exercise Brandyball", which took place on the 300-foot (91 m) cliffs, near Bosigran, known as the 'Brandys'.[9] The training exercise was deemed one of the most hazardous and challenging of the war,[10] beginning with a seaborne landing,[9] followed by a climb up the vertical cliffs with full kit to destroy the target, an old disusedtin mine. 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,[9] as observers from all the services were present, including GeneralBernard Montgomery. The archives are now held in theImperial War Museum.[9] The following day the men decided the operation should continue, and it was successfully completed on 7 June.[9][11]
The Church of St Senara is partlyNorman and partly of the 13th and 15th centuries (the north aisle 15th century). There is a west tower and the octagonalfont may be from the 13th century. One of only two remaining bench ends portrays theMermaid of Zennor. Little is known of St Senara, although legend connects her to Princess Asenora ofBrittany.[12][13]
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).[14]
Special Operations Executive intelligence officerVera 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, CBELégion d'HonneurCroix de Guerre".[15]
The village ofBoswednack was home to a small community ofCornish speakers during the 19th century. These includedJohn 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.[16][17] It is from John Davey that we know theCranken Rhyme, probably the last recorded piece of traditional lateCornish verse.
The legend of themermaid of Zennor concerns amermaid 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.[18]
In its turn, the legend has inspiredVernon Watkins' poem "The Ballad of the Mermaid of Zennor",[19]Sue Monk Kidd's novelThe Mermaid Chair, Cornish poetCharles Causley's bookThe Merrymaid of Zennor, the song "Mermaid" by Cornish folk singerBrenda Wootton,[20] the song "The Mermaid of Zennor" by English singer-songwriter Paul William Gibson, andHelen Dunmore'sIngo Chronicles.
As well as apublic house, theTinner's Arms, next to it is a guesthouse[21][22]
Carne Cottage is one of a number of abandoned buildings in the area. It is claimed that the cottage used to belong to theoccultistAleister Crowley in the 1930s, although there is no evidence that Crowley ever owned the cottage, or ever even visited it.[23] It is claimed that the death ofKatherine 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.[23]
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 ofFreedom, an anarchist newspaper based inLondon.[24]
Patrick Heron lived in Cornwall until the age of nine and he returned in 1956 to live at "Eagle's Nest", 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 theTate St Ives art gallery.[25]
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