Breathing new life into village rich with history
THERE is nowhere quite like Zennor in Cornwall – a pretty village among a foreboding landscape, it’s a fascinating mix of ancient history, magic, folklore, and famous (and infamous) visitors.
But like so many villages on Cornwall’s coast, Zennor has also fallen victim to second homes and the slow death of its local community.
However, now a number of younger residents are breathing new life into Zennor Churchtown, as the little haven nestled in the Foage Valley is actually known.
As Molly Banks - who, with her husband Mike, runs artisan retail and cafe hub Zennor Wayside - says: “Second home owners are carving holes in this community and it’s becoming desolate and hollowed out, but we want there to be life and soul here.”
And that’s exactly what they’re bringing in an innovative way, which fits in perfectly with the village. And what would the ancient farmers think about the chapel being converted into a recording studio by an Abbey Road engineer who, yes, has worked on releases by The Beatles?
In its quiet way, Zennor is a template for how some of our more historic villages can progress in the 21st century without losing their innate charm.
At the height of the tin and copper mining industry in the 1840s over 1,000 people lived and worked in
Zennor. Today, the parish has a population of around 200 but there are only a handful of people living in the village itself alongside those who visit their holiday homes irregularly.
Sandwiched between the dramatic granite cliffs and the moor-like hills, there is something wonderfully mystical about Zennor, aided and abetted by the tale of the mermaid - who flashed her scales and made off with Matthew Trewella - and the nearby megalithic site, Zennor Quoit.
There is magic in these here hills but also tales of evil - occultist Aleister Crowley was supposed to have raised the Devil in Carn Cottage, which now sits broken and vandalised on the barren headland, and was the site of one woman’s mysterious death during a night that locals still talk about in hushed tones. The parish’s field systems date back to the Bronze Age and are the oldest living artefacts in the world. Just think about that for a moment 4,000-year-old fields which are still used by farmers to this day.
Because of its special place in Cornwall’s landscape and heritage, Zennor has long attracted the great, good and not so good.
In December 1915, writer DH Lawrence came to live in the village with his German wife Frieda, initially at the Tinners’ Arms before renting three cottages at higher Tregerthen for four shillings a week, where he completed Women in Love.
He wrote: “It is a most beautiful place, a tiny village nestling under high, shaggy moorhills, a big sweep of lovely sea beyond, such lovely sea, lovelier than the Mediterranean ... It is the best place I have been in.”
However, being Zennor, there was a dark side. The locals were deeply suspicious of the Lawrences. It was wartime and Frieda was related to the Red Baron, the renowned German
pilot. Thought to be spies, after two years the couple were forced to leave, following police searches in October 1917. Lawrence never really got over it.
Others who stayed in and around the village included Virginia Woolf, who wrote “this is the loveliest place in the world. It is so lonely”, and Hollywood actor Robert Newton.
One completely unexpected guest was Emperor Haile Selassie, forced from Ethiopia by Mussolini’s invasion. Local legend has it that the man many Rastafarians believe was the Messiah took part in a barn dance during the village feast.
He was staying at Eagle’s Nest, the grand house which can still be seen glowering imperiously down on Zennor next to the B3306 to St Ives.
Twenty years later, celebrated artist Patrick Heron moved to Eagle’s Nest. From its majestic position, he not only painted but worked tirelessly to protect the landscape and heritage of West Penwith until his death in 1999.
All of this might suggest that Zennor is a place grounded in the past, where tourists zoom in to see the Mermaid’s Chair in the church or have a spot of lunch in the Tinner’s, one of the oldest pubs in the land, built in 1271.
But, no, magical modern things are happening. Take the aforementioned Mike and Molly.
Growing up in that other deliciously named Cornish village, Ventongimps, it was always Molly’s childhood dream to live in Zennor.
She said: “One of my earliest memories is standing in the churchyard, filled with wonder at the tail of the mermaid and thinking, ‘I want to live here one day’.”
She met Mike - from Gower in Wales - in their 20s and she introduced him to Zennor and he soon shared her dream. The couple started the Cornish Laser Cutting Co from their garage in Gulval, which became a hugely successful business, but Mike harboured a desire to build a working-studio gallery and become a practising artist.
Then one day in 2017 they met Bob and Sarah, from the then closed Wayside Museum, who mentioned a longtime desire to live in Gulval. The Banks jokingly suggested swapping houses. To cut a long story short, their fantasy became a reality, and with the backing of family, Mike and Molly transformed the old museum into a new entity - Zennor Wayside.
Molly recalled their dream: “Our workshop could be moved to the old wheelwright’s barn. We’d renovate the disused exhibit rooms, turning them into an artisanal gift shop to sell our works, together with books, pottery, jewellery and other niceties. An art gallery for Mike. We could also renovate and rent out the tearoom shop to our friends Moomaid [the ice cream makers based at nearby Tremedda], who always hankered for a Moomaid parlour in Zennor but had never had the opportunity.
“Everything would be set within inspired botanical gardens with a small event space set behind the
cafe. Here we could hold a variety of low-key, intimate gatherings, ranging from post-wedding ice creams to seasonal craft fayres. We also dreamed of developing a new format of conversational, small-capacity ticketed events to share ideas, freely express and talk philosophy with invited guests.”
The madcap idea has become a reality with work on the gardens element continuing. It’s a wonderful space which is bringing a different kind of visitor to Zennor and ensuring people stay longer in the village and, importantly, spend money while they’re there. Molly - who was previously an actor and performer with Cornish theatre companies C-Scape, Rogue, BishBashBosh added: “We’re helping Zennor become more of a destination now you can visit Moomaid, go to the gallery and gardens, visit the shop and church.”
Next door to Wayside is the beauteous chapel, which has stood empty for a while.
However, by the end of the year it should have a new lease of life as a recording studio after planning permission was granted to Abbey Road engineer Sam Okell, who has worked on the 50th anniversary mixes of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, White Album and Abbey Road among many other things.
It’s definitely an exciting time for Zennor as deputy chairman of the parish council, Sam Nankervis, agrees.
“They’re doing a wonderful job at the Wayside - Moomaid, the book and gift shop are drawing people in and they’re spending a bit more time in Zennor.”
He added: “Second homes are an issue like anywhere in Cornwall, but we want this to be a vibrant village full of people earning a living.”