-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
The Rookery, Nantwich dating originally from the 15th and 16th centuries at the end of Hospital Street, which include Churche's Mansion, number 116 and numbers 140–142. These buildings survived the fire of 1583, which destroyed the town end of Hospital Street together with much of the centre of Nantwich. The Rookery is believed to stand near the site of the medieval Hospital of St Nicholas, which gives Hospital Street its name. The Rookery is a large detached Georgian building of two storeys, in red brick with stone dressings under a tiled roof. The front façade faces Millstone Lane and is set well back