A question came up on 'IG' today which queried what the number 802 after the words Case Sparse indicated - if anything...

It seems many aren't aware that some smaller villages still employ the old system for their 'civic (house) numbers'. So here's what I explained about this pracrice...


The 802 could be the civic (house) number. The name of the street is 'Scattered Houses' (case sparse).

The seemingly high number is probably because they used the ancient way of finding houses - as they still do in the village where I live. The number 802 could indicate that the house is 802 metres from the start of the road..

For example: My house is No. 519 - my nearest neighbour was 432, but a house has been built between us and the new house will have the number that corresponds with how many metres their gate is from the start of the road (probably about 465..)

This may sound strange, but it ensures that once you have a civic number of this kind - it will never have to alter to accommodate new houses!