Comment by louthy

I've just bought a house in Alderwasley in Derbyshire, the nearest town is Wirksworth [1]. I assumed that, because this area was the heart of the industrial revolution [2], the town was an eponymously named workers town built for mill workers (there are actually entire towns in the area that were built for mill workers).

Then I read the history on wikipedia:

The name was recorded as Werchesworde in the Domesday Book of 1086 A.D. Outlying farms (berewicks) were Cromford, Middleton, Hopton, Wellesdene [sic], Carsington, Kirk Ireton and Callow. It gave its name to the earlier Wirksworth wapentake or hundred. The Survey of English Place-Names records Wyrcesuuyrthe in 835, Werchesworde in 1086, and Wirksworth(e) in 1536.

The toponym might be "Weorc's enclosure", or "fortified enclosure".

I just love how place names in the UK have evolved.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirksworth

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromford_Mill