ANNALS AND RECORDS, OF THE WEST WINCH MANORS, IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK. PART I. The parish of West Winch is a small scattered village of detached houses with several pleasant residences, in the western division of the county of Norfolk, in the hundred of Freebridge Lynn; bounded by Lynn on the north, North Runcton on the east, Setche on the south, and the river Nar on the west, with the exception of a small strip of land and two cottages, now on the west side of that river, owing to the straightening of the channel of the Nar about forty years ago. West Winch is distant about two miles from the borough of King's Lynn, and is situate on and near the Queen's highway leading from the ancient town of Lynn Regis to the University of Cambridge, from which it is distant forty miles due north, and also about the same distance nearly due west from the Cathedral of Norwich. ORIGIN OF THE NAME WINCH. The origin of its name Winch, according to Blomefield or Parkin, is derived from Win, which in the British language signifies water, aud Ic, or Ise, a general name in these parts for any stream or rivulet, the inhabitants of this part of Britain being called by the Romans the Iceni, also Wininc-as seated in a wet meadow. Upon this etymology may be added an extract from that ably conducted literary journal Notes and Queries, 2nd S., xi. May 4th, 1861. B Winch (2nd S., xi, 267, query by the Rev. Geo. Munford concerning the word) : : "The Saxon Wincel (Danish vinkel-an angle), a corner, in composition of local names, will contract into Winch, as Winchcomb, or Winchelcomb, for Wincelcomb; but it is not so clear that it will do so when found otherwise. Nevertheless, Winch, or Uuinic, might be from the Celt anc, a bending, from ảy, the root both of άykúλoç, angulus and wincel. Supposing the name to be from the Ancient British, I would offer the following etymologies, viz., from uin-ic, white dwelling; uin-inch, white island; uin-inc, white meadow; uin-ish, or itch, white water; quayn-ik, the dwelling on the heath, or down; uain-ik, the marshy dwelling;" et seq. The following is the opinion of Charles Wicliff Goodwin, Esq., M.A., on the name Winch : "Temple, 26th March, 1861. "I have been looking up the name "Winch," and here is the result of my researches. Dr. Leo, in his work on Anglo Saxon local nomenclature, makes no mention of this word, which, nevertheless, occurs in the names of several places in England, though under slightly varied forms. Thus I find Winchfield, county Hampshire, Winchmore Hill, county Middlesex, Wincham, county Chester, Winchcomb, county Gloucester, Winchendon, county Bucks, Winchelsea, county Sussex, Winceby, county Lincoln, Winkbourne, county Notts, Winkfield, county Bucks and county Wilts, Winkley, county Devon, Winkton, county Hants, Winksley, county York, Wincle, county Chester, Aldwinkle, county Northampton. I believe that Winch, Winchel, Wink and Winkle, are all really the same word. In Anglo Saxon, Wincel means a corner, and Wincel-comb (otherwise Winchelcomb, and now Winchcomb) is explained by Bosworth as 'in angulo vicus.' The word Wincel is etymologically connected with the Latin angulus, angle, ancus, crooked (in the arm), uncus, crooked; Greek ȧyrún, bend of the arm, ȧyкóv, bend or angle of a wall, bay of the sea, &c., a'yкog, bend of the arm, also glen, hollow, valley. A good many more cognate words might be pointed out. The German has the same word, viz., Winkel, corner. I have no doubt that East Winch and West Winch were originally the two corners of an old Saxon domain, between which lay Middleton-the central part of the same domain," et seq. |