The name possibly derives from
Llan diacon, meaning "church of the deacon", with the
llan- prefix being of Welsh origin. However, it does not have a parish church and probably refers to Woodchurch. Alternatively, the name could refer to the "church of St. Tecan/Tegan", an obscure Welsh saint. Landican has been variously spelt over time, including:
Landechene (1086),
Landekan (1240),
Lankekan (1347) and
Lancan (1539). John D. Bu'Lock wrote that the survival of the Celtic-derived names for Landican and nearby
Wallasey "in an area where later English and Norse occupation was so intensive is in itself remarkable." The settlement of
Landechene was recorded in the
Domesday Book under the ownership of
William Malbank and consisting of 21 households (nine villagers, seven smallholders, one priest and four Frenchmen). The hamlet was a township in Woodchurch Parish of the
Wirral Hundred, which became a
civil parish in 1866. From 1894 Landican was administered as part of
Wirral Rural District before being absorbed into the
County Borough of Birkenhead in 1928. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 1933 and merged with Birkenhead St Mary. The population was recorded at 45 in 1801, 57 in 1851, 71 in 1901 and 66 in 1931. On 19 October 1944, a
United States Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber from the 703rd Bomb Squadron, 445th Bomb Group based at
RAF Tibenham, was on a familiarisation flight when it exploded in mid-air. The bomber crashed near the hamlet with the loss of all 24 people on board. In 1996 a large stone memorial to those who died was erected at the nearby North Cheshire Trading Estate in
Prenton. ==Geography==