58-601: Pixies may refer to: Plural of Pixie Pixies (band) , an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Pixies . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pixies&oldid=1250426592 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
116-663: A flora not seen anywhere else in the UK. Penzance's Morrab Gardens is able to grow bananas. Penwith also contains an artificial lake, Drift Reservoir , which is located approximately 3 miles west of Penzance. In addition to Penwith's status as a Heritage coastline , west Penwith, an area of 90 square kilometres, is considered an Environmentally Sensitive Area . Penwith lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The principal towns in Penwith are Penzance ,
174-418: A bundle of rags to lure children. The pixies of Dartmoor are fond of music, dancing, and riding on Dartmoor colts . These pixies are generally said to be helpful for humans, sometimes helping needy widows and others with housework. They are not completely benign, however, as they have a reputation for misleading travellers known as being "pixy-led", and it can be cured by turning a coat inside-out. In some of
232-469: A circle that had appeared upon the turf until one of them, named Omfra, lost his laugh. After searching amongst the barrows of the ancient kings of Cornwall on St Breock Downs , he wades through the bottomless Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor until his laugh is restored by King Arthur in the form of a Chough . In the legends associated with Dartmoor , pixies (or piskeys ) are said to disguise themselves as
290-549: A fisherman in Mousehole named William Bodinar stating that he knew of five people who could speak Cornish in that village alone. Barrington also speaks of a John Nancarrow from Marazion who was a native speaker and survived into the 1790s. Chesten Marchant , d. 1676, a woman from Gwithian , is believed to have been the last monoglot Cornish speaker. Canon Doble 's Cornish Saints Series included saints from this area: nine of these were reissued in 1960. Penwith had
348-476: A population of 65,000 in the mid-2007 estimates. 96.4% of Penwith residents were born in the UK. 72% of people in the district gave Christianity as their religion, whilst nearly 18% of people stated that they are non-religious, compared to 15 per cent nationally. Penwith has the 6th highest rate of divorce of any district in England and Wales at 13.4% of the over 16 population, and correspondingly also has one of
406-605: A possible ancient Celtic forebear—such dwarfish sprites wore traditional hooded cloaks associated with the British and concealed phallic daggers. In the Christian era, they were sometimes said to be the souls of children who had died unbaptised (similar to the belief in Limbo ). These children would change their appearance to pixies once their clothing was placed in clay funeral pots used in their earthly lives as toys. A common idea in
464-411: A set of bells, or bell ringers, to come from Wales, of whom were escorted by monks on their journey. The pixies were worried, as they knew that once the bells were installed it would be the death knell of their rule over the land. They cast a spell over the monks to redirect them from the road to Otteri to the road leading them to the cliff's edge at Sidmouth . Just as the monks were about to fall over
522-582: A small peninsula at the tip of a larger peninsula, the district is somewhat isolated from the rest of the UK. Two major transport routes terminate in the district, the A30 road and the Great Western Main Line railway. The St Ives Bay Line provides local transport between St Ives, and the main line at St Erth . A ferry to the Isles of Scilly , 28 miles (45 km) west-south-west of the district,
580-430: A sort of weakness for finery exists among them, and a piece of ribbon appears to be... highly prized by them." Some pixies are said to steal children or lead travellers astray. This seems to be a blend from fairy mythology not originally attached to pixies; in 1850, Thomas Keightley noted that much of Devon pixie mythology may have originated from fairy myth. Pixies are said to reward consideration and punish neglect on
638-465: A war. The pixies were victorious and visit occasionally, whilst the fairies are said to have left after their loss. By the early 19th century, their contact with humans had diminished. In Samuel Drew ’s 1824 book Cornwall , Drew states: "The age of pixies, like that of chivalry , is gone. There is, perhaps, at present hardly a house they are reputed to visit. Even the fields and lanes which they formerly frequented seem to be nearly forsaken. Their music
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#1732765972895696-680: A weekly newspaper, The Cornishman , based in Penzance. As well as Penwith, the paper covers the Isles of Scilly . Penwith has its own community radio station, Coast FM (formerly Penwith Radio), which was launched on 5 November 2016 and broadcasts in West Cornwall on 96.5 and 97.2 FM. The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , as a merger of Penzance and St. Ives boroughs, St Just urban district , and West Penwith Rural District , and
754-492: Is Samuel Minturn Peck . In his poem, "The Pixies", he writes: The late 19th-century English poet Nora Chesson summarised pixie mythology in a poem entitled "The Pixies". She gathered all the speculations and myths into verse: Have e’er you seen the Pixies, the fold not blest or banned? They walk upon the waters; they sail upon the land, They make the green grass greener where’er their footsteps fall, The wildest hind in
812-564: Is a high degree of local variation of names. In west Penwith , the area of late survival of the Cornish language , spriggans are distinguished from pixies by their malevolent nature, while knockers are distinct for their association with tin mining in Cornwall . Pixie mythology is believed to pre-date Christian presence in Britain. Romano-British Hooded Spirits genii cucullati are
870-497: Is a source of local friction. Until the 1960s, pilchards were the major catch landed at Newlyn, which were processed at the nearby pilchard works, before the fish fell out of favour with the public. A revival of pilchard fishing in Penwith in recent years occurred after a rebranding exercise as Cornish sardines (sardines are actually small pilchards). This has been helped by investment from the Objective One programme. Much of
928-524: Is also known as the Land's End Peninsula . The Penwith peninsula sits predominantly on granite bedrock that has led to the formation of a rugged coastline with many fine beaches. The contact between the granite and the adjoining sedimentary rock (mostly shales) is most clearly seen forming the cliffs at Land's End , the most westerly point in the district and this geology has resulted in the mining that has made Cornwall famous. Tin and copper have been mined in
986-531: Is an area of Cornwall , England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district , whose council was based in Penzance . The area is named after one of the ancient administrative hundreds of Cornwall which derives from two Cornish words, penn meaning 'headland' and wydh meaning 'at the end'. Natural England have designated the peninsula as national character area 156 and named it West Penwith . It
1044-443: Is an area of extreme economic deprivation. It is ranked as the 25th most deprived district in England, and it is located in Cornwall, the poorest county in England. It has been suggested that in fact this ranking understates the extent of the problem due to the difficulties of assessing deprivation in dispersed rural populations, and the socially and economically polarised nature of rural communities. Deprivation manifests itself in
1102-584: Is based in Penzance. Penwith contains a great concentration of Bronze Age , Iron Age , and Celtic British archaeological remains. The most significant of them are described in a field guide first published in 1954. Tewdwr Mawr ( Cornish : Teudar or Teudaric ) ruled over the area from Carnsew in the mid-6th century before returning to his patrimony in Cornouaille in Brittany around 577. Penwith's population has remained broadly static for
1160-426: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Pixie A pixie (also called pisky , pixy , pixi , pizkie , piskie , or pigsie in parts of Cornwall and Devon ) is a mythical creature of British folklore . Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for
1218-771: Is known. The term Pobel Vean (Little People) is often used to refer to them collectively. Because of its location of origin, it is possible it comes from the Proto-Brythonic *bɨx, which has become bych, little, in Middle Welsh and bihan, in Breton. The change from b to p can be easily explained by a sandhi that occurs after the use of the old article or a pronoun. Very similar analogues exist in closely related Irish ( Aos Sí ), Manx ( Mooinjer veggey ), Welsh Tylwyth Teg ('Fair Family'), and Breton ( korrigan ) culture. Although their common names are unrelated, there
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#17327659728951276-446: Is ranked 28th and 41st for those described as having long term illness and general poor health respectively. Penwith has one of the highest unemployment rates of any district, ranked 51st out of 376 districts, and also one of the lowest rates of degree level education at 16%, compared to the national average of 20% (244th/376). Penwith is also ranked as the district having the 28th largest retired population in England and Wales. Penwith
1334-575: Is rarely heard." Pixie Day is an old tradition which takes place annually in June at the East Devon town of Ottery St. Mary . The day commemorates a legend of pixies being banished from the town to local caves known as the "Pixie's Parlour". The Pixie Day legend originates from the early days of Christianity, when a local bishop decided to build a church in Otteri (Ottery St. Mary), and commissioned
1392-574: Is re-enacted each year by the Cub and Brownie groups of Ottery St. Mary, with a specially constructed Pixies' Parlour in the Town Square—the original Pixie's Parlour can be found along the banks of the River Otter . Pixies are described in folklore and fiction in various ways, most commonly as ill-clothed or naked. In 1890, William Crossing noted a pixie's preference for bits of finery: "Indeed,
1450-458: Is traced to immaterial and malignant spirit forces. In some discussions, pixies are presented as wingless, pygmy -like creatures. However, this is probably a later accretion to the mythology. One British scholar stated his belief that "Pixies were evidently a smaller race, and, from the greater obscurity of the ... tales about them, I believe them to have been an earlier race." Many Victorian-era poets saw pixies as magical beings. An example
1508-462: The Puck (Cornish Bucca ), a mythological creature sometimes described as a fairy; the name Puck (Irish: Púca , Welsh: Pwca ) is also of uncertain origin. The earliest published version of The Three Little Pigs story is from Dartmoor in 1853 and has three little pixies in place of the pigs. In older Westcountry dialect , modern Received Pronunciation letter pairs are sometimes transposed from
1566-524: The 34 councillors in 1981 held any political allegiance (a situation reflected in other Cornish Authorities at this time). By the late 1980s, however, the council became increasingly party politicised with the Conservative Party being the major political force on the council often forming coalitions with Conservative supporting independents to ensure the day-to-day operation of the Council. With
1624-510: The Council with the Liberal Democrats now forming the largest opposition group. Despite this, the council remained hung with no overall control. The final political composition, at the 2007 elections, being: Conservatives 17, Liberal Democrats 12, Labour 1 (sits with Independent group) and Independent 5. The district was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . Since 1974 and until abolition
1682-603: The Victorian era was that pixies were a folk memory of the Pictish people, but that has largely been disproven and is viewed in academia as Norse propaganda against the Picts This suggestion is still referenced in contemporary writing, but there is no proven connection, and the etymological basis is considered ambiguous. Some 19th-century researchers made more general claims about pixie origins, or have connected them with
1740-585: The area and never returns. As such Penwith was listed as an Objective 1 area by the European Social Fund , however, this status expired in 2006 with the programme closing on 31 December 2008. Traditionally, like much of the rest of Cornwall, Penwith's economy relied heavily on mining and fishing and was badly affected by the decline of these industries. Although the district has tried to stimulate employment through tourism, many of these jobs are by definition seasonal or part-time and do not replace
1798-479: The area since pre-Roman times and the landscape is dotted with ruined mine buildings. Inland, the peninsula is primarily granite with a thin top soil. This combined with Cornwall's exposed position and the prevailing weather systems from the Atlantic Ocean means that, with the exception of the high moor areas, much of the area is a semi-bare plateau standing around 130 m above sea level. This is most evident on
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1856-721: The belief and name. However, the word 'pixie' (under various forms) also appears in Dorset , Somerset and to a lesser extent in Sussex , Wiltshire and Hampshire . Similar to the Irish and Scottish Aos Sí (also spelled Aos Sidhe ), pixies are believed to inhabit ancient underground sites such as stone circles , barrows , dolmens , ringforts , or menhirs . In traditional regional lore, pixies are generally benign, mischievous, short of stature, and childlike; they are fond of dancing and wrestling outdoors, of which they perform through
1914-766: The catch is sold abroad in Spain and Italy. Like much of the rest of the country, farmers in Penwith have in recent years been put under financial pressure, due to a withdrawal of subsidies from the EU Common Agricultural Policy , pressure from supermarkets and crises such as foot and mouth in 2001. Agriculture in Penwith is predominantly dairy with some arable crops such as potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli (confusingly these are locally called broccoli and calebrese, respectively). Cornwall's mild climate and an absence of hard winter frosts mean that these cold-sensitive crops can be produced much earlier than in
1972-887: The centre’s future until September 2008. Penwith's scenery makes it a popular holiday destination. Local attractions including the Minack Theatre , South West Coast Path , Land's End and the Blue Flag beach at Sennen Cove ensure that tourism plays a major part in Penwith's economy. Additionally, St. Ives has in recent years become a popular New Year's Eve venue. Penwith also has the highest concentration of Neolithic sites in Europe, including monuments at The Merry Maidens , Lanyon Quoit , Chûn Quoit and an Iron Age village at Chysauster . Tourism accounts for 25% of Cornwall's GDP and 19% of households in Penwith derive their income from this activity. Since 1878, Penwith has had
2030-452: The cliff, one of the monks stubbed his toe on a rock and said "God bless my soul", breaking the spell. The bells were then brought to Otteri and installed. However, the pixies' spell was not completely broken; each year on a day in June, the "pixies" come out and capture the town's bell ringers, later imprisoning them in Pixies' Parlour to be rescued by the Vicar of Ottery St. Mary. This legend
2088-401: The forest comes at their call. They steal from bolted linneys, they milk the key at grass, The maids are kissed a-milking, and no one hears them pass. They flit from byre to stable and ride unbroken foals, They seek out human lovers to win them souls. The Pixies know no sorrow, the Pixies feel no fear, They take no care for harvest or seedtime of the year; Age lays no finger on them,
2146-402: The form of high youth unemployment, an above average proportion of workers in manual occupations, low mean income and a low percentage of people with higher degrees. High educational attainment up to GCSE and A-level demonstrates the depth of local talent, however, poor job opportunities and the absence, until recently, of a university in Cornwall has meant that much of this young talent leaves
2204-449: The former borough and Charter Trustees were appointed to continue elections for the position of Mayor of the town. Charter Trustees being the sitting members of Penwith District Council within the former borough area. Penzance Town Council was finally created in 1980 initially electing 15 members, this was expanded to 20 members in 1999. From 1974 to the mid-1980s, Penwith District Council was dominated by independent members, only 4 out of
2262-607: The general down turn nationally for the Conservatives in 1990s, the Labour Party and to a lesser extent the Liberal Democrats began to make gains at the expense of Conservatives and at the high point of anti-conservative sentiment there remained only four Conservative councillors within the authority. The Conservatives recovered their support from the mid-1990s to regain their position as the largest party on
2320-820: The land, and are forest creatures whom other wild creatures find alluring and non-threatening. They love humans, taking some for mates, and are nearly ageless. They are winged, flitting from place to place. The Pixie Day tradition in Samuel Taylor Coleridge ’s hometown of Ottery St Mary in East Devon was the inspiration for his poem " Songs of the Pixies ". The Victorian-era writer Mary Elizabeth Whitcombe divided pixies into tribes according to personality and deeds. The novelist Anna Eliza Bray suggested that pixies and fairies were distinct species. [REDACTED] Cornwall portal [REDACTED] Devon portal Penwith Penwith ( / ˌ p ɛ n ˈ w ɪ θ / ; Cornish : Pennwydh )
2378-475: The last one hundred and fifty years. Penwith is believed to be the last part of Cornwall where Cornish was spoken as a community language. Dolly Pentreath , known as the last recorded speaker (but arguably not the very last) came from Paul in Penwith. A year following the death of Dolly Pentreath in 1777 Daines Barrington received a letter, written in Cornish and accompanied by an English translation, from
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2436-527: The legends and historical accounts, they are presented as having an anthropomorphic stature. For instance, a member of the Elford family in Tavistock, Devon , successfully hid from Cromwell 's troops in a pixie house. Though the entrance has narrowed with time, the pixie house, a natural cavern on Sheep Tor , is still accessible. At Buckland St. Mary , Somerset, pixies and fairies are said to have been in
2494-412: The lowest percentages of married couple households. Penwith district has one of the lowest levels of home ownership in the country (280th/376) and is ranked 4th for those without central heating. The district also has one of the lowest rates of second car ownership and is ranked 300 out of 376 districts in England and Wales. The district has some of the highest indicators of bad health in the country and
2552-515: The myths and stories of Devon and Cornwall. Before the mid-19th century, the towns Cornwall and Devon had numerous cultural depictions of pixies and fairies. Books devoted to the homely beliefs of the peasantry were filled with incidents of pixie manifestations. Some locales were named for the pixies associated with them. In Devon, near Challacombe , a group of rocks were named after the pixies said to dwell there. At Trevose Head in Cornwall, 600 pixies were said to have gathered dancing and laughing in
2610-407: The night. In the modern era, they are usually depicted with pointed ears , often wearing a green outfit and pointed hat. Traditional stories describe them as wearing dirty, ragged bundles of rags, which they discard for gifts containing new clothes. In other depictions, their eyes are described as being pointed upwards at the outer end. These, however, are Victorian era conventions and not part of
2668-462: The north coast between St Just and Zennor where the remains of the ancient seabed of the Pliocene era are visible. Its highest point is Watch Croft (252 m). There are several deep valleys cut into this plateau such as Lamorna on the south coast, where sufficient shelter from the weather is gained for trees to establish and grow. The shelter of these valleys and the mild climate gives Penwith
2726-468: The older Saxon spelling ( waps for wasp, aks for ask, etc.) resulting in piskies in place of piksies (pixies) as commonly found in Devon and Cornwall in modern times. Until the advent of contemporary fiction, pixie mythology was mostly localised to Britain. Some have noted similarities to "northern fairies", Germanic and Scandinavian elves , or Nordic Tomte , but pixies are distinguished from them by
2784-455: The older mythology. The origin of the word pixie is uncertain. It could have come from the Swedish dialectal pyske , meaning 'small fairy '. Others have disputed this, given there is no plausible case for Nordic dialectal records in southwest Britain, claiming instead—in view of the Cornish origin of the piskie —that the term is more Celtic in origin, though no clear ancestor of the word
2842-416: The part of larger humans, for which Keightley gives examples. By their presence, they bring blessings to those who are fond of them. Pixies are said to have a spiritual connection to horses, riding them for pleasure and making tangled ringlets in the manes of those horses. In mythology, pixies are sometimes said to be of human origin or to "partake of human nature", in distinction to fairies whose mythology
2900-542: The port town and seat of local government, and St Ives , one of the county's most popular seaside resorts . The district is largely rural, and contains many villages, principal amongst them being Botallack , Carbis Bay , Crowlas , Drift , Gulval , Gwithian , Hayle , Lamorna , Lelant , Long Rock , Ludgvan , Madron , Marazion , Morvah , Mousehole , Nancledra , Newlyn , Paul , Penberth , Pendeen , Porthcurno , Sancreed , Sennen , St Buryan , St Erth , St Hilary , St Just in Penwith , Treen and Zennor . As
2958-400: The reaper time goes by The Pixies, they who change not, nor grow old or die. The Pixies though they love us, behold us pass away, And are not sad for flowers they gathered yesterday, To-day has crimson foxglove. If purple hose-in-hose withered last night To-morrow will have its rose. Pixies are "in-between", not cursed by God or especially blessed. They do the unexpected, they bless
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#17327659728953016-509: The rest of the country, and early Cornish new potatoes are a lucrative source of income. Unfortunately this cash crop has come under pressure in recent years due to globalization , which means competition with cheap imports from Egypt. In 2002 the Farm Business Centre was set up to help farmers and farm businesses across Penwith. The centre aims to expand the local agricultural sector and provide advice and funding for farmers in
3074-516: The skilled jobs lost by the closure of the mines. Tin mining once played an important part in the economy of Penwith, with mines across the district including Levant , Botallack , Cape Cornwall , Ding Dong and Wheal Hope . Tin mines gradually became economically mined out through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as the easier seams were exhausted and more amenable sources of metal were discovered in South America. The collapse of
3132-457: The transition from intensive farming toward more sustainable agriculture. This encourages farmers to seek out novel sources of income such as set-aside and organic and small scale specialist produce such as meat from rare breed animals. A priority 4.6 grant from Objective One, plus funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs totalling more than £300,000 have ensured
3190-463: The value of fish landed (turnover >£18 million 2004) and contributes 2% of the region's GDP. The Newlyn fleet utilises a variety of catching methods, however, the vessels are comparatively small and mostly owned by their skippers in comparison with the large factory boats of Spain and France with whom they share their fishing grounds. Accusations of illegal overfishing by the French and Spanish fleets
3248-516: The world tin cartel in 1985 finished what remained of the industry. The last working mine in the district and one of the last in Cornwall was at Geevor which is now a heritage site and museum following grants totalling nearly £4 million from various sources including the Heritage Lottery Fund . The north of the district has arguably suffered the worst from the closure of the mines as there have been few jobs available to replace what
3306-530: Was abolished and replaced by the Cornwall Unitary Council on 31 March 2009. From 1972 until 1974, a shadow Penwith authority existed where sitting members of the above-mentioned authorities acted in an advisory manner. With the abolition of the predecessor authorities in 1974 St Ives , Hayle , Marazion and St Just obtained Town Council status and from within their ranks began to elect Town Mayors. Penzance failed to obtain parish status for
3364-445: Was lost to mining. This is most notably the towns of St. Just and Pendeen which have very high levels of unemployment. Many miners from the district have emigrated over the last century in order to find mining jobs abroad. Despite the decline in the number of people employed in the fishing industry, it still plays an important part in the district's economy. Newlyn harbour is the largest deep sea fishing port in England in terms of
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