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In the middle of a desolate field more frequented by mist and fog than sun sits Land's End’s most celebrated megalithic site, Mên an Tol; the crick stone, so named for its ability to help cure back aches. Mên an Tol is one of several holed stones on the peninsula and both folklore and archaeology suggest a ritualistic function.
Mên an Tol – tin mine in the distance
Children with rickets were cured when passed 3 or 9 times through the hole against the sun. Adding to the myth, in more recent times an incident was reported when the Pisky guardian of the site was thought to have swapped an innocent human child for one of his own. The child’s despondent parents were required to pass the pisky child through the holed stone in order to reclaim their human child.
Mên an Tol: The hole children with rickets were passed through 3 or 9 times
Mên an Tol sits along the Tinners Way, a 12 mile pathway that connects ancient sites across the West Penwith moors from St Ives to St Just. In a famous case from 1977, a couple lodged a complaint with local authorities after being attacked by circling balls of light while walking on the pathway. The Tinners Way eventually meanders along the outskirts of Zennor, an ancient village known for its stone rows, witch’s rock, quoit and legends of mermaids.
The hamlet of Zennor and St. Senara’s church; home of the mermaid bench
The legend of the Zennor mermaid is preserved in a 600 year old carving of a mermaid on the side of a bench in the Zennor church.
The Zennor mermaid bench
The legend recalls the day when a mermaid lured a local man out to sea – never to be heard from again. The young man, named Matthew Trewhella, was admired by the mermaid for his exquisite voice and splendid singing in the local church choir. Eventually the mermaid overcame her inhibitions and started to visit Trewhella more frequently, remaining as long as possible before returning to the sea. Ultimately, the young man became equally enchanted with the mermaid and one night followed her into her watery realm, never to be heard from again.
The entire locale is captivating and supports the legend in peculiar ways; nearby is a field with the ancient place name of The Green Man, and a little further along the coast is the village of Morvagh, which recalls the name Morverch, meaning mermaids or alternatively, sea grave.
Curiously, the tale of the mermaid is recalled across the peninsula at the cove of Porthgwarra. Here a natural cave structure forms a benevolent looking guardian face that looks out over the natural harbour below.
Porthgwarra cove guardian
View of cove from above the ‘head’
The legend of Porthwarra parallels that of the mermaid at Zennor but for one intriguing difference; here the roles are reversed. This time, legend recalls a young man who lured his lover into his watery realm. The story recounts the tale of a young Cornish sailor who fell in love with the local farmer’s daughter. The couple vowed to wait for each other while the young man was at sea for several months, but he never returned, and after three years time was presumed dead. Then one night the young man appeared at his lover’s window, beckoning her to follow him to the cove where his boat was waiting; they would be together once more. His lover obliged, and neither was heard from again.
Just what, if anything, are these curious legends of lovers lured into mystical watery realms meant to convey? The first account of mermaids appeared in Assyria around 1000 BC; 3000 years later they remain alive and well in Cornwall. Do they speak of the same memory?
A Mermaid by John William Waterhouse
While the mermaid is a popular image in old church frescoes across Cornwall, Saint Senara church in Zennor, Land's End, is in fact the only example of a mermaid carving. However, other carvings in Land's End eco a similar memory of fairytales and legends, and are worthy of mention.
At Saint Levan Church a number of curious bench-end carvings echo those of the mermaid in Zennor. Here serpents, griffins and other-worldly creatures commemorate the church’s pagan past.
Saint Levan’s Celtic church screen
Celtic bench ends
In the church grounds the pagan origins of the parish are recalled in a curious boulder called Saint Levan’s Stone. Legend purports that the rock was split in half by the staff of the Saint himself, who uttered the peculiar prophecy:
When with panniers astride,
A pack horse can ride,
Through Saint Levan’s Stone,
The World will be done.
Like many pagan shrines in Land's End, Saint Levan’s stone is associated with fertility rites.
Saint Levan’s church
The split boulder at Saint Levan’s church
Saint Levan’s and Saint Senara are but two of many churches in Land's End with unique esoteric history. Another is Saint Buryan, which boasts two Celtic crosses and an abundance of chalice symbolism:
Saint Buryan Chalice Carvings
Saint Just-in-Penwith is the nearest town to Land's End and maintains a 14th century church built over a far earlier place of worship. A Celtic cross adorns the cemetery and inside the church are a number of peculiar artifacts, including an original wall mural of a figure surrounded by unusual objects ,such as scales, an anvil and hammer, a horn, a mermaid, a rake, a ladder and a boat bearing a fish, amongst others.
West Penwith Resources informs us of a curious mystery surrounding the painting:
“Beneath this painting the workmen found that some of the wall had been removed, and a rough recess formed, 2 ft. 7 in. by 1 ft. 2 in., and 2 ft. deep. It contained a skull and other human bones… which appear to have been hastily deposited, and then walled up.”
Just what - and whom - was concealed beneath the painting remains a mystery. And like so many aspects of Land's End, what little we know suggests there is much more we have yet to learn.
Celtic Cross in front of St. Just Church
Ancient fresco inside the church
Cornwall boasts an impressive assortment of local Saints and many early Christian shrines on the Land's End peninsula recall their glory. It’s worth noting that these Saints are not in fact canonized, but rather represent an assortment of local druids and missionaries from Wales and Ireland who were revered within the community for their perceived holiness and ability to teach. Of all the shrines dedicated to them, none is as widespread or arguably as evocative as the holy wells of Land's End.
Over two dozen holy wells exist in the immediate vicinity of the Land's End summit, the most famous being the Holy Well at Madron. Here the ancient ruined chapel continues to draw visitors, mostly the physically disabled who are and hoping to reproduce the fortune of John Trelill, a 17th century man who was handicapped for 16 years yet cured of his affliction after bathing in the well’s holy waters. Nearby, pilgrims underscore their prayers by leaving a cloth in a sacred spirit tree.
Mardon Well and spirit tree
Much of what makes Cornwall special, and Land's End in particular, is simply its unique Cornish heritage. Sadly, the ancient Cornish language is no longer spoken and many believe it died when Land's End resident Dorothy Pentreath passed away in 1777. Pentreath was regarded as the last Cornish speaking resident, and with her passing, symbolically if not literally, an end of an era may truly have passed.
Grave of Dorothy Pentreath
Despite the passing of Pentreath, Cornwall’s old customs are preserved in surprising ways. In Helston - just up the southern coast from Land's End - an annual ceremony marks the passing of winter and the arrival of summer. The Furry Dance, or Flora dance as it is called locally, takes place on May 8th – the feast day of Saint Michael. Amongst the day’s many festivities is a ritual called Hal en Tow – the oldest portion of the entirely pre-Christian celebration. The ritual includes the singing of a song about Robin Hood, Saint George and the coming of summer. Interestingly, in old English an alternative spelling of Robin was Hob, which in medieval times meant spirit of the underworld, prompting one to speculate if Robin Hood was in fact a Pisky?
Helston May Day celebration
Similarly in Padstow, just up the northern coast from Land's End, an annual May Day celebration is held called the 'Obby Oss’ festival. The ritual celebrates the Celtic festival of Beltane and commences at midnight and lasts the entire next day.
The Obby Oss festival – Padstow
Today, Land's End remains a popular tourist destination and a paradise for hikers, cyclists and enthusiasts keen to undertake the well traveled 874 mile journey from John O’Groats, Scotland to Land's End, the southern most tip of the island. Disappointedly, Land's End village has been horribly exploited in recent years, having been reduced to a second rate children’s amusement park.
Land's End summit, Cornwall
Only the nearby Minic Theatre – a significant tourist attraction in its own right, remains in keeping with the grandeur of the landscape and its legends.
The Minic Theatre – Land's End
I mentioned from the start that Land's End may not be fully appreciated due to its name. What I meant was here is a land so steeped in myth and legend that its narrow shores are the archetypes for both Atlantis and Christ in England, not to mention legends and apparitions of Saint Michael, mermaids, pirates, pixies, pagans and megalithic man. I believe that the whole of Cornwall is special, albeit under-appreciated, and Land's End in particular. Thus, all things considered, I believe a more fitting name might be Land's Beginning. I suspect you agree.
Land's Beginning at sunset |
