The origins of place names around Twerton are not always as straightforward as they might seem, especially when there is more than one possibility. For example, is Newton Road named after Gilbert Newton, who was vicar of Twerton between 1529 and 1560, or is it so called because it was the road you would follow to get to the village of Newton St Loe? My money would be on the latter explanation. (In fact, the footpath which cuts across the camp site at Twerton and out to Newton St Loe, seems to survive as a relic of the greater contact that the two villages once had with each other.)
Pennyquick, at the far end of Newton Road, presents a similar problem. According to the local researcher Peter Little, the name is derived from the Saxon term: Penna-cu-wick - meaning "the dairy farm belonging to Penna". While it is true that "wick" in a place name does often record a dairy farm that once existed, local recollections and traditions in Twerton offer a different explanation.
It is said by some of the older generations, that a pub once existed on the corner of Newton Road, near when the old Twerton mine used to be. After work, the miners found it convenient to spend a quick penny on a pint of beer in there, before returning home. The pub and its location became known as Pennyquick for this reason. I have also heard it said that the pub was demolished by a steam roller which ran down the hill and crashed into it.
Anyone got the answer to that one?
Part of Pennyquick View in the evening
EDITED TO ADD
Actually, the pub explanation does seem a bit of a long shot. I've just seen a map of Twerton in 1807 and Pennyquick already occurs as a field-name back then, before the Pennyquick mine came into existence.
