A wich town or -wich town is a settlement in Anglo-Saxon England characterised by extensive artisanal activity and tradean "emporium". The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon suffix , signifying "a dwelling or fortified place".
Original meaning Such settlements were usually coastal and many have left material traces found during excavation.Simon T. Loseby, "Power and towns in Late Roman Britain and early Anglo-Saxon England" in Gisela Ripoll and Josep M. Gurt, eds., Sedes regiae (ann. 400-800) (Barcelona, 2000), especially p. 356 ff.
Eilert Ekwall wrote:
As well as -wich, - was the origin of the endings and , as, for example, in Papplewick, Nottinghamshire.
Four former "-wīc towns" have been identified in England as the consequence of excavation. Two of theseJorvik (Jorwic) in present-day York and Lundenwic near Londonare waterfront sites, while the other two, Hamwic in Southampton and Gipeswic (Gippeswic) in Ipswich are further inland.R. Hodges, The Anglo-Saxon Achievement: archaeology and the beginnings of English society, 1989:69–104; and, as emporia, C. Scull, "Urban centres in pre-Viking England?" in J. Hines, ed. The Anglo-Saxons from the Migration Period to the Eighth Century: an ethnological perspective, 1997:269-98.
New sense By the eleventh century, the use of -wich in placenames had been extended to include areas associated with salt production. At least nine English towns and cities carry the suffix although only five of them tend to be associated with salt: Droitwich in Worcestershire and the four -wich towns of Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich and Leftwich in Cheshire.
See also English "-wich towns" and the history of salt Emporium Wick, Caithness
References