Map sources for Pity Me at grid reference NZ265452

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). Image File history File links Dot4gb. ... Image File history File links Gb4dot. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... A village is a human residential settlement commonly found in rural areas. ... County Durham is a county in north-east England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

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 difficult to cultivate (Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names). It also occurs elsewhere in the United Kingdom, for example Pityme, Cornwall. The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne explorers, traders, and warriors of the Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles, France and other parts of Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late...

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. Map sources for Framwellgate Moor at grid reference NZ262447 Framwellgate Moor is a village in County Durham, in England. ... Map sources for Newton Hall at grid reference NZ276447 Newton Hall is a village in County Durham, in England. ...

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.

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. The A167 is a road in North East England. ... Chester-le-Street is a market town in County Durham, England with a history going back to Roman times. ... Also known as the Great North Road. ...

References

Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names, A. D. Mills, ISBN 0-19-852758-6