Pity Me
Pity Me is a village in County Durham in England, although other instances of the name can be found in Hexhamshire and near Morpeth. Pity Me is located north of Framwellgate Moor and west of Newton Hall.
It is claimed that during one flight from a Viking invasion, monks sang the 51st Psalm. The Latin words of the psalm are Miserere mei, Deus, meaning "Pity me, O God" in English. For its part, the Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names speculates that it may simply be "a whimsical name bestowed in the 19th century on a place considered desolate, exposed or difficult to cultivate". However, it probably refers to a Pithead Mere, an extended area of boggy waste ground, onto which the outwash from minehead pumping engines was discharged. An alternative theory suggests, as with some local place names in County Durham, the name derives from Norman-French for 'A Small Lake'.[1]. Another theory stems from the same derivation but that 'petit mer' is an ironic name for the settlement given the arid nature of the local land.
It is stated that Pity Me is the home of out of town retail park, the Arnison Centre. Given the positioning of council signposts for Pity Me, this is tenuous. The Arnison Centre scheme covers an area of 208,000 square feet and was built on fields in the 1990s. At present, it houses Next, Pets at Home, Marks and Spencers (a Simply Food store), Rosebys, Brantano, McDonald's, Sainsbury's, Boots, Halfords, Homebase, ...instore, and JJB Sports. In recent years, the Arnison Centre expanded to include the Mercia Retail Park, whose existing tenants are Asda (Living), Comet, Laura Ashley, with planning permissions for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Peter's granted at the tailend of 2008. This was despite much local objection (in particular at the former) given concerns about litter and racing, allegations which have plagued the Arnison Centre in recent years. 2 units remain un-let as of January 2009. Sainsbury's also very publicly announced plans for expansion in January 2009 and invited residents to put forward their opinions. Retail giant Lidl is not part of the centre but remains a stone's throw from it. The neighboroughing council-run Abbey Sports Centre is also often described as being in Pity Me, but again, is the wrong side of signposting.
Transport
Pity Me is bypassed by the A167 which connects to Darlington and Newcastle via Chester-le-Street along the former route of the A1 through the region.
See also
Other unusual place names in the North East include the village of No Place, believed to be a contraction of North Place, as marked on the original Ordnance Survey maps, and Bearpark, from Beaurepaire, French for "beautiful retreat" - the name of a nearby Norman manor house.
References
- ^ "Villages around Durham City". Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- A. D. Mills. Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. ISBN 0-19-852758-6.
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