-wich town Hamwic in Southampton and Gipeswic (Gippeswic) in Ipswich are further inland. As also means "bay" in Old English, "wich" and "wych" are also used in names to denote brine springs or wells. 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. -wich town A "-"wich" town" is a settlement in Anglo-Saxon England
Ashton-in-Makerfield Lancashire Coalfield, and so was a coal mining district. The name Ashton derives from Old English and means the "farmstead where the ash-trees grow"; it is a common name and is found locally in Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside and Ashton upon Mersey in Trafford. The town's name was recorded as "Eston" in 1212. Later, the suffix "in-Makerfield" was added, which relates the name of the old district of Makerfield of which Ashton was a part; Makerfield derives from the Celtic for a wall or ruin and the Old English word "feld", meaning "open land". St Thomas' Church of England parish church