Retching-under-Tweed was a village in England that, according to legends associated with Saint Fidgeta, may have been near a medieval Fidgettine (or either Saxifragian or Ursuline) convent (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 24).
Inspiration[]
The River Tweed is 97 miles long and flows primarily through the Scotland/England borders region of Great Britain[1].
Bellairs appears to be having some fun with the naming conventions of villages and towns along rivers (e.g. Stratford-upon-Avon indicates the village of Stratford was built upon the River Avon). So does that mean this village was named after someone was found retching under the River Tweed[2]? Directions to a city or hamlet named Retching are up for grabs. We doubt it has to do anything with undesirable or ugly tweed garments[3], as tweed is usually outerwear (not "under" wear).