The Art Of A Quarterboard And The Naming Of Homes {An Olde British Nautical Tradition}

I'm so happy to be back after a week of working on a vast paint job. I'm not sure you had seen my stories last week on Instagram, but I'm finished now, and I realised something beautiful after having gotten that job. I realised that I don't like working for other people. As kind as they might be, it takes me away from my dreams of authoring my books, painting and working on The Carter Settlement. The money isn't worth it to me, regardless of how good the pay is, I'm now going to be saying no to all of them. I look at it like this; if it's not bringing my career forward, then I'm out. It's that simple. 

Now, you might recall when Jeffrey and I moved to my folk's cottage; my father said I could do whatever I wanted with his spare cottage that was not being utilised. Mostly it was a big ol' building stuck full of things that needed gone through and dispersed. It had no air conditioning or running water (it now has running water and a small septic tank). So, when I first was given the reigns of go-ahead to make the cottage what I wanted, I decided it'd be a fun project to create a cottage as close to the Victorian era as possible with what my father had already built. Also, because I have been itching to do a fun Interior Design project. 

Quarterboard: I went with green paint as this was a popular colour in the Victorian era. The gold I think makes it feel a bit nautical. 

Besides, the naming of a cottage being a tradition, especially in England, I have big plans for The Carter Settlement. Think Hilltop, but instead of a rabbit being the mascot, think of a mermaid. 

The little cottages That will be at The Carter Settlement will bear the names of characters in my storybooks. Scarlette Rose Cottage is after the mermaid character of my first book in The Tale of MerryMaid Scarlette Rose. The chicken coop will be named Henny Pennys Hen House after Henny Penny in my book called," The Tale of Henny Penny Goody Two Shoes."

(Here's a snippet of a quarterboard description that I found in a book.)

[" In 1815, maritime law made it a requirement that every ship has its name affixed to its stern. When the law also required that name boards or quarter boards be placed on the ships' bows or quarters, the figurehead carver was often called upon to provide them. The result has been a collection of such quarter boards which shows the endless variety of decorative carvings …"– from Figureheads & Ship Carvings at Mystic Seaport by Edouard A. Stackpole]

I have always wanted to name my home. Still, since I mostly rented throughout my 20-30's, I never had the opportunity to name my homes. Until I married Jeffrey (he owned a little house before we met for 20 years) was I then able to give our home a name which I chose" Staffordshire Cottage." Stafford is my married name, and Jeffrey is from Staffordshire, United Kingdom. So, in my opinion, it was absolutely perfect! There should be a significance to why you name your home. Make it have a beautiful meaning, a legacy in kind. 

My folks home that Jeffrey and I live in now has always been called Carters Cottage all the little surrounding cottages had names (received from my grandmother), and the whole neighbouring area had always been Carter Village. My grandmother was ahead of her time, and when she built this home, she appointed this neighbourhood with names. We even live on Carter Road named after my grandmama and grandpapa.

I love the idea of naming the place that I dwell. I remember when living in California, I thought it was the loveliest thing that in Carmel By The Sea, they still only use names such as Castle Cottage or Flanders Mansion. When you mail something there, it's not like anywhere else that I've been. They use landmarks as addresses. So for instance, if you needed to send me something, it was Flanders Mansion, Carmel by the Sea, California and then the zip code. It reminds me of England so much.

Another exciting thing about naming your home is that if you want to take it to the next level you can by sending a written letter to the registered department at your local courthouse. You can legally have your address changed to your quarterboard name, Isn't that wonderful! You can't have the numbers removed, but you can have your name added to the address. I'm not joking, and I'm planning to do it for my own home. I'll let you know how it goes on my end.

Have you named your home, and if so, Would you ever consider having it changed and registered through the postal service?

For my dear Britain and USA friends, here is a link and here to give you the steps in how to add a name/change the name to your home.

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx