A self-deprecating way to refer to one's home. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is the source: the insufferable Mr. Collins refers to his patroness Lady Catherine de Burgh with “The garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only by a lane from Rosings Park, her ladyship's residence'' and “But she is perfectly amiable, and often condescends to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.''