Merlewood Ave in Cashmere – Named after Merlewood, the home built on Cracroft Terrace in 1903 belonging to Dr. John Christopher Bradshaw (1876- 1950).Dr Bradshaw was the first professor of music at Canterbury College 1937-1941. He was organist and choirmaster at Christchurch Cathedral for 35 years. He formed Merlewood Avenue to give better access to his property and it was a private road until Dyers Pass Road was formed. First mentioned in The Press in 1912 when tenders were invited by the England Bros. for the erection of a house there. First appears in street directories in 1914.
A reasonable of information from the library website. It was probably named after a place in England. Electoral rolls give Dr John Bradshaw’s address as 21A Dyers Pass Rd. It is a puzzle that this street is called an Avenue as I always imagine an avenue to be a wide street but this street is very narrow and steep. In 1922 it was described as a narrow badly formed track. It was also described as a private right of way. Between 1920s and 1960s there were many complaints about the road being used as a racetrack by young men. Obviously boy racers isn’t a new problem. The usual birth and death notices but most entries were ads in the 1960s when there were sections for sale. The oldest house on the street was built in 1905 and a few from 1910s and 1920s. A couple of more modern houses and they look so out of place amongst the gorgeous wooden villas. I parked my car on Cracroft Terrace and walked down the street to visit my friend who lives in a lovely 1920s villa. Street was far too narrow for me to even attempt to park on the street. I had to walk on the road as there was only a few metres of a footpath and there were vehicles parked on the footpath. Great views of the city from this street.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 