why is your house called what it is called?

[robgil]

apparently clipper cottage was named so because an old bloke who lived here used to 'clip' the kids around the ear. not sure how true that is but someone from the villages history club told mr robgil this the other day. perhaps he was nicknamed clipper? but then i guess it would be 'clippers cottage'.
you can tell i am bored eh?

 

[FamilyWiggs]

From its position high up the valley above the village, our house is aptly named Ty Uchaf (highest house).

It's no longer the highest house, but presumably once was.

Rob - given the age of your house it could either have had previous names too ("clip round the ear" being a more modern phrase then your house is???) or perhaps clipper refers to the occupation of a former owner - perhaps the local sheep shearer in days gone by?

 

[LadyArowana]

...............Because 22 is after 21 and before 23 :lol: . Our apartment is slightly more interesting, named after the family that used to have a smallholding on the site. That was sold so the mansion block could be built. Not exactly thrilling stuff though.

 

[philpjuk100]

"Wheelwrights cottage" next to "the smithy" down "blacksmith lane"(dont know why!)phil.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'm sorry Rob, but I don't believe the clip round the ear story. That sounds like typical local embellishment! Clip has meant cut ever since words were invented, so I think Robin's idea more likely.

There's a chance though, that CANOE (the Committee for ascribing a Naval Origin to Everything), thought your house was made from old ships' timbers, and so nicknamed it Clipper Cottage. :wink:

This house is often called "Woodman's Cottage" or "the old woodman's cottage" by locals because there's always been very frantic tree work going on to keep the fires burning. There's no name like that in the deeds or records though, it's always been Beacon Cottage. Legend has it that beacons were lit here for many centuries when there was something to celebrate, like a coronation, or a victory, as it's the highest point and you can see us for miles around. I have inherited a wonderful photograph with the house that looks like the end of the first world war - but might not be - of the most enormous bonfire you've ever seen, and the proud, begrimed men standing in front of it who built it. I think it's the next field, but it's hard to say.

 

[Feltwell]

"The Birches" - what do you reckon was on the plot originally then? Definitely the original name, it's in the deeds.

We do have two large birch trees in the front garden, not sure of the lifespan of a birch but I doubt very much that these are older than the house.

Naff name award goes to two 1920's houses a few doors up from me, which no longer bear their original names. The brewery that was behind (& owned) my house had some spare land and the owner decided a to build a small semi-detached house for his 2 sons. The houses were called Grahamville and Ronaldyne. :roll:

Bad taste is not a new idea.

 

[christianb]

Our place is called 'Wesley Cottage', but seems to have only come by that name during the early 20th century - before that it was a tenement farmhouse of one of the local manors.

The name, though, relates NOT to the chapel next door. In fact, that's there because of the little single-storey annexe at the end of our cottage (the village's "old meeting house"). Local legend has it that John Wesley actually stayed in there around 1750 on one of his early visits to Cornwall, and thus it became a form of early chapel (a 'Prophet's Chamber'). Now it's our bedroom!

 

[skier-hughes]

Berry Brook House, because Berry Brook runs along the bottom of the fields. The name is only 5 years old though, as it used to be Westcroft Farm, for hundreds of years, going back to Whorlescroft Farm in Doomsday times.

 

[robgil]

so how do you trace the name of a house? i know clipper cottage was once 'Cooks and Coppelowes' way way back in the olden days because thats who lived here and in the cottages behind.

 

[Penners]

The house in south Suffolk that we sold last year had been the village stores until some 25 years previously. Despite its having a rather grander name now, many of the older locals still called it "The Old Stores".

A year ago we moved to our current late Georgian cottage. The other day I was speaking to an elderly local farmer, explaining where I lived. "Oh," he said. "You mean the old stores."

Apparently our cottage had also been the village stores, many years ago.

 

[chuckey]

Yeh, since 1803 my cottage has been called "Pleasant view" We tried to think of a better name:- "Ardwerk"? or "Money Hole"? but in the end apathy overcame us. We refer to it as "PV" so as not to let on to our friends what its real name is.
If you get on to the roof, the view is quite pleasant.
Frank

 

[JohnB]

Yeh, since 1803 my cottage has been called "Pleasant view" We tried to think of a better name:- "Ardwerk"? or "Money Hole"? but in the end apathy overcame us. We refer to it as "PV" so as not to let on to our friends what its real name is.
If you get on to the roof, the view is quite pleasant.
Frank

If it's a south facing roof, you could put PV (as in photovoltaics) on it . You get lots of money if you sign up for a Feed In Tariff.

 

[philpjuk100]

There is an ex council house in loughborough which has been "black and white"timbered and has a large wooden sign by the door which says_"FIRCUM HALL" should be listed! phil.

 

[fjpdesigns]

Although this is a relatively new house I thought it worth a mention, or view, as it has been so tastefully and sympathetically improved, totally in keeping with the area. Any names suggested for it?

 

[JohnB]

I prefer those railings to the plastic "rustic wood" fencing I've seen on a house in North Somerset. Even better, it had an electrically operated plastic "rustic wood" gate that seemed to automatically opened when a car drove past! Fortunately I haven't got a photo!

My Dad called his house Wych Elm, as he planned to plant one in the garden - until he found out how big they got! It was built in 1927, so almost period!

My last place (1953, so definitely not period) was called Chardane, apparently after Richard and Jane who it was built for :roll:. The people who bought it from me renamed it!

I haven't discovered where Castle Green came from yet. It appears to have always had an English name, and I think there are a few more in West Wales. Any suggestions?

 

[Feltwell]

Although this is a relatively new house I thought it worth a mention, or view, as it has been so tastefully and sympathetically improved, totally in keeping with the area. Any names suggested for it?

Hmm - the replacement gold "lead" around the bay is the finishing touch.

Taste can be such a cultural thing though. At my work we sell a lot of polished brass electrical fittings to the Middle East - shiny gold lightswitches don't sell in the UK, but the Arabs do seem to love a bit of "bling". There are several houses in this area with what could be called overly ornate railings, much as in fjpdesigns picture - they all belong to Asian families. Traditional British tastes can be quite conservative - or boring - by many standards. Or just downright naff, as with the plastic fences!

My last place (1953, so definitely not period) was called Chardane, apparently after Richard and Jane who it was built for :roll:.

There's worse. I had a friend who went out with a girl called Sheric - pronounced like Sherry, but with a c on the end. An unusual name, I assumed that she had family from outside the UK and it wasn't a British name. It was only later that I found out her parents were called Sheila and Rick.

 

[Pford75]

Ours is called "Shropham House" because it is a house and in Shropham! However, it was built as "Shropham Villa" and was allegedly renamed when the family who owned it lost all four of their sons in the First World War. They didn't sell the house, but moved into Shropham Hall just up the road, leaving the house empty for several years. When they moved back in, it became 'house' rather than 'villa'.

 

[Penners]

Although this is a relatively new house I thought it worth a mention, or view, as it has been so tastefully and sympathetically improved, totally in keeping with the area. Any names suggested for it?

I suggest Gilt Trip.

 

[worms]

"Ardwerk"?

Actually, Ard is a gaelic word for a high place or point and in English an "ard" was an early form of plough, either would have been appropriate when the name Ard was chosen for our place.

 

[fjpdesigns]

Our house was built around 1590 ish so I have absolutely no idea why it's called Tudor Cottage. A very boring name but it would be too much faff to change now.