Conway Mill Trust

Good or bad weather, the male merrow sits on a rock scanning the sea for cases of brandy lost by wrecked ships. He’s a friendly fellow with a red nose, probably the result of too much drink. He is a bringer of good luck, wears a red cocked hat and has a green body, green hair and teeth. He has pig eyes, scaly legs, arms like fins and no clothes. The female merrow, also called a mermaid or sea-maiden, is lovely and graceful with a tail of a fish and web-like scales between her fingers. As she lounges upon the rocks, she attempts to attract fisherman to her. But if he gets too near, she dives into the sea, laughing at him. Her presence always ensures a storm or disaster at sea. When a sailor fails to come home from sea, it is sometimes said he “married a mermaid”.