In 1876, fishermen in Gerrans Bay, Cornwall, claimed to have caught a long-necked sea serpent, which they killed and displayed. This creature, known as Morgawr in Cornish folklore, is one of many sea serpent sightings reported around the British coast. The event was documented in local newspapers and became part of Cornwall's rich maritime mythology.

The Morgawr sighting entered Cornish folklore and was later referenced in the poetry and fiction of the region, including the works of Daphne du Maurier and Charles Causley. The sea serpent motif appears in British poetry as a symbol of the unknown depths of the ocean and the persistence of myth in coastal communities.