Then cast, sweet Saint! a circle round,
And bless from fools this holy ground.
These lines are from modern compositions, but made in imitation of others much older.
St. Mary Week is, therefore, sweet or beloved St. Mary; indeed Treweek is known to mean sweet, beloved town or village. The Saxon wick is never, I believe, lengthened into week.
Mr. Lysons says,
The church town is in all ancient records called the borough of Week St. Mary, and the occupiers of certain fields are still called burgageholders.
The ancient manor of Week St. Mary appears to have been merged in that of Swannacot, which belonged to the late Lord Dunstanville by inheritance from his great grandmother, heiress of the Heles.
The manor of East Orchard Mauvais was purchased from Mr. Dennis Rolle by the late Sir John Call.
There is a place near the church town called Castle Hill, believed to be the site of an ancient fortress.
The advowson of the rectory belongs to Sidney-Sussex College in Cambridge, having been given to that Society in exchange for another immediately connected with his residence by Lord Carteret, who inherited the disposal of this preferment from the family of Grenville.