Mystery
The Mermaid's Bell
Every Easter dawn, a bell rings under the mere.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- A wide, still mere below an old church
- Legend from
- 19th-century folklore
- Best time
- Easter dawn
- Tone
- Haunting
At dawn on Easter Sunday, listen across the mere. A mermaid is ringing the lost church bell.
Rostherne Mere is said to be home to a mermaid who rings a sunken bell beneath the water. In one version, recorded in Bradshaw's guide, the bell was meant for the church tower above the mere, but three times it broke its ropes and rolled into the water. The mere is said to be connected underground to the Mersey estuary. The mermaid swims up that way and appears every Easter Sunday at dawn, ringing the bell. Dr Sarah Peverley of the University of Liverpool notes that the tale is recorded in 19th-century folklore, and suggests it may be a reminder to look after one's soul.