St Senara's Church, or The Church of Saint Senara, in Zennor Churchtown, Cornwall, England, UK, is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the parish of

Zennor Zennor is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen (Zennor), Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, ...

.St Senara, Zennor
at A Church near you, from the

C of E The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, retrieved 14/03/2012 It is in the

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

Penwith Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, 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. ...

Archdeaconry of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th century. The area and the archdeacon remained par ...

, and

Diocese of Truro The Diocese of Truro (established 1876) is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury which covers Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and a small part of Devon. The bishop's seat is at Truro Cathedral. Geography and history The di ...

. It is dedicated to the local saint,

Saint Senara Saint Senara is a legendary Cornish saint with links to the village of Zennor on the north coast of Cornwall , UK. The Church of Saint Senara, Zennor is dedicated to her; the village, nearby headland Zennor Head, and the neolithic tomb Zennor Q ...

, and is at least 1400 years old, though it was rebuilt in the 12th century. It is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

History

A church dedicated to

has stood on the current site overlooking the sea since at least the 6th century AD, but the current building is partly

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

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. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

may be from the 13th century. It was reputedly founded by Saint Senara on her return from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with her son, who was by then a bishop, when they founded the village of Zennor. One of only two remaining bench-ends in the church portrays the

Mermaid of Zennor The Mermaid of Zennor ( kw, An Vorvoren a Senar) is a popular Cornish folk tale that was first recorded by the Cornish folklorist William Bottrell in 1873. The legend has inspired works of poetry, literature and art. Synopsis Long ago, a bea ...

, depicted admiring herself in a mirror. This is on the so-called "Mermaid Chair" which also has carvings of fish on the seat, and which is believed to be at least 600 years old. On the church's outside wall, next to the west porch, is a memorial to John Davy, 1891, the last person to speak Cornish fluently. The church is surrounded by a small circular

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, the boundaries of which have existed since the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and in which parishioners have been buried for centuries. Both this church and the church of the nearby village of

Morvah Morvah is a civil parish and village on the Penwith peninsula in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Geography The village is centred approximately eight miles (13 km) west-southwest of St Ives and north-west of Penzance.Ordnance S ...

lay claim to the local legend of a cow eating the bell-rope, at a time when such items were fashioned from straw. The tower contains six bells in the key of G, four of which were cast by

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bel ...

in 1926 to accompany the two medieval bells already there. They are currently unringable due to corrosion of the bell-frame. In 2019, a full restoration of the bells was started by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

, which will once again allow them to be used for

change-ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

Today

Saint Senara's is the parish church for Zennor, and mainly serves the village of Zennor, more properly called "Zennor Churchtown", after the church, to distinguish it from Zennor parish. The church remains in regular use for Sunday services, as well as hosting special events such as weddings and funerals. The priest-in-charge is Revd. Elizabeth Foot.

References

*Mattingly, Joanna. (2016) ''St. Senara’s Church, Zennor: A Church History and Guide''

External links

Diary of James Stevens of Zennor & Sancreed
(about the restoration of the church; additional information from: Mattingly, Joanna. (2016) ''St. Senara’s Church, Zennor: A Church History and Guide''.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zennor Church of England church buildings in Cornwall English Gothic architecture in Cornwall Grade I listed churches in Cornwall St Senara's Church