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About the Cornish Pewter Mermaid Brooch

The Mermaid of Zennor is one of West Cornwall's best-loved folk tales. The folklorist William Bottrell wrote it down in 1873: a beautiful, richly dressed woman came to the church to hear Mathey Trewella, the best singer in the parish, and he followed her and was never seen again. A later part of the story tells of a mermaid asking sailors anchored off Pendour Cove to lift their anchor, because it lay across her door. In Cornish she is An Vorvoren a Senar.

The carving is older than the written legend. The Mermaid Chair in St Senara's, a Grade I listed church, is made from medieval bench ends about 600 years old, with fish carved on the seat and the mermaid on the end. Visitors still come to see it.

The maker describes it as handcrafted and cast in Botallack, near St Just, from lead-free pewter made with recycled tin and copper, then polished bright. At about 3cm long, it's often called the Zennor mermaid brooch. The back is flat, with a straight silver plated pin on a coil hinge and a catch.

Wear it high on a coat or jacket lapel near the collarbone, on a collar, a scarf or a hat band. As a mermaid-inspired brooch, it suits anyone who loves the legend and is old enough for a pin, and as a Cornish brooch for coast path walkers, sea swimmers and anyone who has seen the carving.

Pewter doesn't tarnish like silver; a wash in warm soapy water and a dry cloth keep it bright. Our pewter mermaid pendant shows the same mirror pose, so the two make a matching Cornish gift.