Pityme () is a small village at in north

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, United Kingdom. Pityme is at the junction of the road from

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent populat ...

Polzeath Polzeath (; kw, Polsegh, meaning ''dry creek'') is a small seaside resort village in the civil parish of St Minver in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately north west of Wadebridge on the Atlantic coast.Ordnance Survey: Land ...

and the road from

St Minver St Minver ( kw, Sen Menvra) is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Min ...

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

es of St Minver Highlands and

St Minver Lowlands St Minver ( kw, Sen Menvra) is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minv ...

. It is situated between

Tredrizzick Tredrizzick ( kw, Treredenek)Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)

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 {{NorthCornwall-geo-stub