General Chat

A house that someone had built and the only known thing known about it is a name, c 1940/50s. We would like to know if it had a number and when it was built. Thank you for any help you may give.

Well, I knew my gran and her husband lived in a house called Rotherfield Greys, in New Milton, in the 1950's Fortunately, it's still called that, and there's a description online of it being a 5 bedroomed detached house. The majority of dwellings in Fernhill Road are bungalows, so that made the search easier. Clicking on 'show mages' may even bring up a picture.
Edit: When I clicked on a picture - there was a brochure about the place - it's set back from the road, so can't be seen on 'google street', but the brochure is amazing!

Have you tried 'Googling' the name of the house, and the road?
If that comes up with nothing, if you know the name of the road where the house was built, you could go on 'Google maps, and wander down the road.
You may find the house has changed names, but you' ll get an idea of the area.
If you find it, for a small fee, you could find out when it was built, from the Land Registry.

All I know is it in Kent possibly Chatham, so I will try that, thank you :-)

If the house and family are not listed in the 1939 registration, the house was unlikely to have been built during the war years.

It may never have had a number. There are several roads near here, where the houses have names, but no numbers.
The address where I was born started off with just a name, then when the road was complete, the bungalows were numbered.
Names had to be registered with the Post Office, I think, so although they might not have been used much, if the house did get a later number, the name is not likely to have changed.

Once you find a likely area using Maggie's ideas, the local main library / archive might have maps, which will help pinpoint age or you could search for the family in old electoral lists to see when they first feature.

It doesn't always work - the house I lived in, in Mevagissey has been demolished - I found this out when we visited the village about 10 years ago. Even the road 'Tregoney court' has gone.
Then, trying to find the house we lived in, in Horrabridge - well, that wasn't easy!
'Station Road' is now 'Old Station Road', and the road, which used to be the main road through the village, has now become a cul-de-sac.
The house was about 10ft above the road, and the hazel hedge my dad planted has successfully totally hidden the house from the road. :-(

The house my g g .grandfather bought, that my grandfather and mum were brought up in, was bombed during WWII, and demolished soon after.

The house they were moved to, in the New Forest has been overshadowed by the holiday park built around it (if the house is still there).
Finally, they were moved into a prefab - which was demolished in the 1980's, and gran was moved to a bungalow.

My ex used to live in an area called 'White City' in Midhurst. This was a row of lovely old white houses, set back from the road, with a pond in front.
These were what was left after a bomb hit the area. In about the 1990's, this was demolished, and replaced with a Budgen's! A few years ago, it then became a Sainsbury's.

I know the exact addresses of all the above houses, so, you see, even if you DO know the address - your search may be a failure.