Noctorum is a suburb of Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 on the Wirral Peninsula

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...

. At the 2001 Census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 the population of Noctorum was 4,990 (2,360 males, 2,630 females).

Ridgeway High School and the Discovery City Learning Centre (containing Ridgeway Library) is situated within this suburb. There is also a large council estate located here.

Upton railway station

Upton railway station

Upton railway station serves the village of Upton, Wirral and the Noctorum area of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station is situated on the Borderlands Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Arriva Trains Wales....

 is the nearest station to Noctorum. It is located on the Borderlands Line

Borderlands Line

The Borderlands Line is the railway line between Wrexham, Wales, and Bidston, Wirral, England.Passenger train services are operated by Arriva Trains Wales between Wrexham Central and Bidston. Trains run every hour Monday to Saturday daytime, every two hours after 18:45 and on Sundays...

 between Bidston

Bidston

Bidston is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire...

 and Wrexham

Wrexham

Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...

.

History

The name Noctorum is of Old Irish origin, originally Cnocc Tirim, meaning 'Dry Hill'.
This may be in reference to Bidston Hill

Bidston Hill

Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland that contains historic buildings and ancient rock carvings. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England...

, of which Noctorum is situated on its western slope. The name may long pre-date the Norse-Irish settlement in the early 10th century and go back to a Hibernia

Hibernia

Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...

n settlement of the west coast in the Sub-Roman

Sub-Roman Britain

Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...

 period (early 5th century).

Noctorum appears as Chenoterie (Norman French) in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

of 1086. "Chêne" (French for oak) may be used here as in the Wirral hamlet of Landican

Landican

Landican is a hamlet on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is situated on the outskirts of Birkenhead, near to Woodchurch and the M53 motorway. Landican consists of a small group of cottages and farm buildings. At the 2001 Census the community had a population of only 20.In 1085, Landican was...

 (Old Welsh/Brythonic) called Landechene, the Oak Enclosure in the Norman French of the Doomsday Book.

Noctorum was a township

Township

The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...

 of the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Woodchurch

Woodchurch

Woodchurch is an area of the Wirral Peninsula, in England, which is sometimes considered a suburb of Birkenhead. Administratively, Woodchurch is within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West...

, in the Wirral Hundred. The population was 17 in 1801, 32 in 1851 and 212 in 1901.
It was added to Birkenhead civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in 1933 and part of the County Borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, until local government reorganisation

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

on 1 April 1974.