Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Landechene 1086 DB

• Landekan 1240–9 Chest

• Landecan 1265–90 1278 ChFor

• Landekan to 1469 Cre

• Lanian or Landekan 1621 Orm2 1656

• Landecon 1332 Ipm

• Landecan 1338 Cre

• Landeca 1346 CampbCh

• Landecan in Wyrhale 1390 Orm2

• Landican 1342 ChRR 1438 Pat 1391 VE 1535 NotCestr 1724

• Lankhorne alias Landican 1671 AddCh

• Lankekan 1347 ChFor

• Ludecan 1536 Dugd 1538 AOMB399 1560 Sheaf

• Lancan 1539 Plea

• Ludcame 1547 MinAcct

• Lancon 1566,1570 Sheaf

• Lancan 1569 Sheaf

• Lancame 1629 Sheaf

• Lanian or Landecan 1621 Orm2 1656

• Lankhorne alias Landican 1671 AddCh

Etymology

'Tegan's church', from lann and the OWelsh  pers.n. Tecan .MWelsh  Tegan . Professor Richards observes that there is no known Welsh saint Tegan (cf. DEPN). He draws attention to Capel Degan and Llandegan in the parish of Llanwnda, Pembrokeshire, supposed to be named after one Began identified by Baring-Gould and Fisher, Lives of the British Saints ii 279–285, with OIrish Dagan , i.e. St. Dagan of Inverdaile (Ennereilly, co. Wicklow, v. Hogan 457) bishop c.600, died 640, cf. Sheaf3 45 (9369), 49 (9885–8). He demonstrates that llan + Degan would have led to a p.n. form *Llanddean whereas Llandegan supposes llan + Tegan . (Capel Degan could be a formation based upon the p.n. Llandegan < llan + Tegan , so it need not infer a pers.n. Degan .) There may well have been an unrecorded Welsh saint Tegan . Professor Richards & Professor Jackson remark that there are several instances of the pers.n. as the second el. in Welsh p.n. compounds, where it might appear to be merely a common pers.n., but after Llann - a pers.n. is usually taken to be that of the person revered as a saint at that place. Cf. Sheaf3 45 (9369), 49 (9885–8). It has been remarked in Sheaf loc. cit. and Orm2 ii 520, 525, that Woodchurch 274infra is not mentioned in DB, whereas Landican (and its priest) is, that Woodchurch is not distinctly named until 1093 as a separate township, and that the advowson of Woodchurch was vested in the manor of Landican down to the time of Henry VIII (cf. 'the manor of Wodechirche which is a member of the manor of Thingewall '13 Bark 21, cf. Thingwall 273infra ).These circumstances suggest that Woodchurch is the later name for Tegan's church at Landican, and that the township called Woodchurch was originally included in that called Landican. Sheaf3 49 loc. cit. notes that Woodchurch had a typical Celtic circular churchyard, perhaps the original lann a sacred precinct.