Westwood Terrace in the Central City, Christchurch

Westwood Tce in the Central City- formerly Davis’ right-of way and Davis Lane. Re-named Westwood Terrace. May be named after Elizabeth, known as Lizzie Hurd, née Westwood, (1826- 1910). A report in the Star of a city council meeting held on 5 April 1880 says Davis’ right-of-way has been “channelled, formed and shingled”. Davis Lane first appears in street directories in 1894. Re-named Westwood Terrace in 1913.A small amount of information from the library website. It is quite possible that the street is named after Lizzie Hurd but there is also a place called Westwood near Peterborough in the UK. Westwood Tce is close to Peterborough St. I couldn’t find a huge amount of information about this street. In 1901 there was a property for sale. A room for let in 1906 and in 1900 a boy was charged with throwing stones. I couldn’t out who the Davis was who had the right of way. Without a full name it was impossible to search. Davis was a very common surname. Between 1914 and 1916 there were coroner reports on 4 elderly men who had died suddenly. They all died of natural causes but one poor fellow was found dead at his front gate. In 1918 four old age pensioners were injured in a fire in their house. This wasn’t a safe street for the elderly.. In 1944 this street was included in a discussion about if the council should maintain rights of ways and easements. I couldn’t walk this street as it looked like a private driveway but the street sign didn’t say private. The street runs from Salisbury St to Park Tce and the Park Tce ended is blocked off. I found a recent report which said that 13 properties had legal access to this street. The street was described as being a vehicle and service road for Bishopspark Retirement Village and they were concerned about the safety of the inhabitants. It makes you wonder how long this area has housed the elderly with the street in the early 1900s seeming to have a large number of elderly living on it. I don’t know if the street is named after Lizzie Hurd but she sounds like an interesting character. Frank Hurd was her third husband and the library have more information about her that is worth reading.