Pity Me - Etymology

Etymology

There are various theories on the origin of Pity Me's unusual name. Most likely, as speculated in the Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names, it is simply "a whimsical name bestowed in the 19th century on a place considered desolate, exposed or difficult to cultivate". Alternatively it may be a shortened form of an earlier place name referring to a shallow lake or mere, such as Petit Mere (i.e. from Norman French), Petty Mere or Peaty Mere. Related theories suggest that it comes from Pithead Mere, referring to an extended area of boggy waste ground onto which the outwash from minehead pumping engines was discharged, or that petite mer (French: small sea) is an ironic name for the settlement given the arid nature of the land.

However, the existence of several examples of other, lesser settlements, that share this name in Northumberland - particularly one north of Barrasford in North Tynedale, and another outside Hartburn, east of Morpeth - suggests that it may be derived from some actual feature of the landscape, or former land-use, that has since been forgotten (one exotic suggestion for the North Tynedale example being the Ancient British term "Beddan Maes", meaning "burial ground" - although this suggestion has never been offered to explain the name of the Durham settlement).

More obvious folk etymologies include the story that the coffin of St Cuthbert was dropped near Pity Me on the way to Durham, at which point the saint implored the monks carrying him to take pity on him and be more careful; or that coming to the location during a flight from a Viking raid, a group of monks sang the 51st Psalm, the Latin version of which includes the words "Miserere mei, Deus", which may be rendered in English as "Pity me, O God".