St Senara's Church, Zennor

St Senara’s Church stands in Zennor Churchtown, a small village on the north coast of Cornwall. The building looks out over fields that slope down to the Atlantic and has done so for at least fourteen centuries. Its oldest parts belong to the 12th century, though the tower and font date from later centuries. The church is listed Grade I and keeps watch over a circular graveyard whose boundaries have been the same since the Bronze Age. The church is dedicated to Saint Senara, who is said to have founded both the building and the village after returning from Ireland with her son. Inside, one bench-end shows the Mermaid of Zennor holding a mirror; the chair itself is thought to be six centuries old. The tower contains six bells, four of which were added in 1926, and all were restored in 2019. A slate on the wall remembers John Davy, the last person whose first language was Cornish. Visitors find a working parish church still used every Sunday, as well as for weddings and funerals. The priest-in-charge is Revd Elizabeth Foot. Outside, the graveyard holds the graves of artists Bryan Wynter and Patrick Heron, who drew their inspiration from this landscape. A short walk from the porch leads to the sea, where the fields and the Atlantic meet beneath wide Cornish skies.