Workington
Major Settlement in the Parish of Workington and Workington Rural
Historical Forms
- Wirkynton c.1125 StB c.1540 Leland
- Wrykinton 1275 FF
- Wrykynton 1512 LP
- Wirkyngton c.1130 StB 1564 FF
- Wyrkingthon 1277 Netherhall
- Wrykington 1279 Ass
- Wirchintuna c.1130 StB t.Rici Ch 1308
- Wirchinghetona c.1150 StB
- Wirchintona c.1160 Lowther
- Wirketon' 1211 Cur
- Workington 1564 FF
- Woorkyngton 1569 SP
Etymology
This contains a personal name Weorc or Wyrc which enters into many place-names in the Anglian parts of England. The one individual who is known to have borne a name formed from this element—an abbess called Verca , mentioned in Bede's Life of St Cuthbert—lived near the river Tyne. If stress is laid on the form Wirchinghetona , the present name can be translated 'tūn of Weorc 's people,' but the other forms suggest that the -ing - was uninflected, and it is doubtful whether it can have had more than the force of a simple genitive. It may be added that for historical reasons the form Wurcingtun in BCS 815 cannot be identified with Workington, as in DEPN. It probably refers to Warkton (Nth).