Pityme () is a small village at in north
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom.
Pityme is at the junction of the road from
Wadebridge to
Polzeath and the road from
St Minver to
Rock. It straddles the boundary between the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es of
St Minver Highlands and
St Minver Lowlands. It is situated between
Tredrizzick and
Splatt although the villages form one contiguous settlement. The public house is the Pityme Inn and there is a small trading estate south of the village. The name of the village has its origins in a tragic tale of loss at sea. The skipper of a fishing vessel set to sea despite the deteriorating weather. All hands were lost. The women of the village went, as a group, to the widow of the captain to berate her for her husband's culpability in their widowhood. She explained: "I have lost my husband too, so you should also pity me" - hence Pityme Inn. Another story refers to the sea having been closer to the village and is a corruption of the French expression petite mer (small sea). Similar tales are told of Pity Me in County Durham.
External links
Villages in Cornwall
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