HI ALL: Recently Googled Earth and could read the name on the gate of the house we lived in---probably the same gate---during WWII---"Ashfield" in Rowlands Gill! Veronica THORNTON Hagin northern California On Apr 20, 2010, at 3:07 PM, Mike Simpson wrote: > From: "Brian Pears" <bp@bpears.org.uk> >> Towns and cities had street names and houses numbers or names >> from an early date and this practice spread to smaller and >> smaller places, but even in the first decade of the 20th >> century some hamlets were still without house or street names. >> > > Hi Brian, > > I was born in Norham in North Northumberland, which is quite a large > village, yet apart from the council housing estates, there were no > street > names/numbers until the village postman Alan Hill retired around > 1958. At > that time the post office made the council erect street name signs > and all > houses were required to be numbered. Postal deliveries were then > made by van > from Berwick. > > Prior to this, houses were mainly named, we lived in 'Ancrum Lodge' > and > 'Branxton House' but letters addressed to my father as Tommy Simpson, > Joiner, Norham, Northumberland were always delivered correctly. As > you say, > everyone knew everyone else so street addresses were irrelevant. > > Mike Simpson > Penrith, NSW. > > > > > > > The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORTHUMBRIA-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message