The name Rochestown itself, derived from the Norman personal name Roche combined with the Old English suffix for a settlement, hints at a medieval or post-medieval origin, likely associated with one of the many Anglo-Norman families who established themselves across Kilkenny following the twelfth-century invasion. Church sites in townlands bearing such names frequently preserve the outlines of an early parish or manorial place of worship, sometimes reduced to little more than a fragment of wall, a graveyard boundary, or a scatter of worked stone in a field.