Pity Me
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  Map sources for Pity Me at grid reference NZ265452
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Pity Me is a village in County Durham in England. The name probably arose as a semi-humorous term for a barren piece of land, or as a distortion of the French petite mer (small sea: ie, a lake).
Locals claim the term arose because monks sang the 51st psalm during their flight from a Viking invasion. The Latin words of the psalm are: "Miserere mei, Deus", meaning "Pity me, O God" in English. However, it is actually a whimisical name bestowed in the 19th century on a place considered desolate, exposed or differcult to cultivate (Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names). It also occurs elsewhere in the United Kingdom, for example Pityme, Cornwall.
It is located north of Framwellgate Moor and west of Newton Hall, and is the home of the Arnison Centre, one of Durham's retail parks.
Other funny place names in the North East include the village of No Place, Bearpark, Idle (home of the famous Idle Working Mens club), Once Brewed, Twice Brewed, Wetwang and many others all of which have a unique story behind their names. These were recorded in 2004 in the book Shakespeare My Butt! From 'Marsupial Elvis' to 'No Place' ...on the trail of the pointless quest go to [1] www.marsupialelvis.com for more info and other place names. This includes a further variation on the reason how Pity Me got its name.
[edit] Transport
Pity Me is bypassed by the A167 which connects to Darlington and Newcastle via Chester-le-Street. This, like many roads in the area is the former route of the A1 through the region.
[edit] References
Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names, A. D. Mills, ISBN 0-19-852758-6
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