Victorian houses - name bricks

Fangg27

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum but I wasn't sure where else to post this question. It's not a pressing matter, but a matter of intrigue. I have been viewing period properties recently and I came across a street where each house had a large name stone on the top of the wall. I'm sure it's commonplace but I've never paid attention to this before. I just wanted confirmation, so are these stones engraved with the names of the owners from the build date?

Thanks

muckybutt

Fangg27 wrote: »

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum but I wasn't sure where else to post this question. It's not a pressing matter, but a matter of intrigue. I have been viewing period properties recently and I came across a street where each house had a large name stone on the top of the wall. I'm sure it's commonplace but I've never paid attention to this before. I just wanted confirmation, so are these stones engraved with the names of the owners from the build date?

Thanks

More likely to be the brick manufacturers name
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=566&tbm=isch&tbnid=WPWn5rUAX_0U7M:&imgrefurl=http://makingbricks.blogspot.com/2010/10/your-name-in-brick.html&docid=172xJuYrv38-zM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Xiuub5leb88/TLJ1G7Jby0I/AAAAAAAAA6M/6Tbb0tmhj6s/s1600/0925001601.jpg&w=1280&h=960&ei=lPb6T5W3LMqZ8QP3lsD7Bg&zoom=1

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=566&tbm=isch&tbnid=_0KV6h9KamAegM:&imgrefurl=http://www.deborahirwin.plus.com/Newsletter%25202007%2520months/July%25202007/july%25202007_%2520newsletter_%2520p%25201.htm&docid=EE4wLI1PO3WXWM&imgurl=http://www.deborahirwin.plus.com/Newsletter%2525202007%252520months/July%2525202007/barras5.JPG&w=452&h=338&ei=lPb6T5W3LMqZ8QP3lsD7Bg&zoom=1

Fangg27

Thanks for the reply. The bricks/stones in question are at the top of the gatepost and each house has a different name engraved on the brick/stone (most of which have been painted). That's why I assumed it was the original owner's name.

muckybutt

Ahhh they'll be house names then, the days before RM used numbers and post codes.

macman

More likely the builder's or mason's name, since they would have been built before they were sold.

iamcornholio

From the Victorian housing boom, the majority of new houses were "pre-named" by the builder with fashionable names or names with local popularity or status. More bespoke houses for the better off, would tend to be named for/by the first owner

Before that, house names would be those of the person who owned them, especially if they were a merchant or touted a specific service or profession