[gerdesj]

"Bit of a miss on Whitchurch"

Mr Big Bang ... Whitchurch has rather a lot of spellings. Also, relying on WP for all your references rarely works well.

My reference to Whitchurch was UK exclusive in context but there are quite a few in AUS, NZ, CA, US, SA and others.

I'm not sure why you conflate Sturmister Newton with a bog standard Newton. You'll be calling Newton Abbot a Newton next (I went to school there for a while). We have Newtons and Newhams and that pouring out all over the place here but they are largely unremarkable in this discussion because it is effectively a suffix or prefix associated with the real moniker. Sturminster -, - Abbot etc.

On the other hand a White Church generally is just that - a white church. However, some if not most are associated with wit as in wise and not the colour white. Also Church might be Kirk (Scotland) or Chapel (Welsh) and a lot of other spellings too.

I appreciate your research on WP but I think reality is a bit more complicated.