Straven Road in the suburb of Riccarton, Christchurch

Straven Rd – The section of street running off Fendalton Road was formerly Cuddon’s Lane. Named after William Cuddon (1835-1924). Re-named Straven Road. Named after Strathaven (pron. Strayven), a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, about 30 miles east of Kilmarnock. Cuddon established a brewery and malthouse on the corner of Fendalton Road and Cuddon’s Lane in 1869. Cuddon’s Lane first appears in street directories in 1894. Cuddon’s Lane is first mentioned in The Press in 1907 when land is advertised for sale at the corner of Cuddon’s Lane and Fendalton Road. The advertisement says the land had been owned by the Inwood family since 1862. Straven Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1903 when land owned by the estate of the late John Deans is advertised for sale. Named to continue the theme of naming Riccarton streets after places in Ayrshire, Scotland, from whence the Deans family originated. As late as 1955 Straven Road was still divided into two streets, Straven Road Riccarton and Straven Road Fendalton.A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add as the history of the Deans family is well known in Christchurch. This street has houses dating from 1910 and covers most decades. Some are really lovely but others are looking rundown. Boys High is on this street and I entered the grounds to take photos. Been wanting to do this for years. At the Riccarton end of the street there are shops and the street turns into Clarence St. The street turns into Idris Rd at at Fendalton Rd end. This is an old part of Christchurch and the street is a very busy road.