Grassmere Street in the suburb of Papanui, Christchurch

Grassmere Street in Papanui – Formerly Green’s Road. Named after the Rev. George Rowney Green (1794-1860). Re-named Grassmere Street. Named after Lake Grasmere in the Lakes District, Cumbria, England. [Grasmere has been mis-spelt in the naming of the street.]The Rev. Green, a fellow of Eton and Rector of Everdon in Northamptonshire, selected Rural Section 308, just north of Papanui (North Road) “next to Dunnage”. He was an absentee landowner. His brother, Henry Green of Papanui, advertises for work as a tutor in The Lyttelton Times in 1852. Green’s Road appears in street directories in 1894. Re-named Grassmere Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named

A reasonable of information from the library website. There were several Green Roads or Streets and this subjected was mentioned in 1925. In 1932 Green’s Road kept it’s name and Green’s Lane in Riccarton plus Green’s Way in the city were changed. In 1948 Green’s Road was changed to Grassmere Street. In 1933 there was an obituary for Eleanor Bailey who came out in the shop Fatima in 1851 with her parents and siblings. Her father was Harry ( Henry) Green and he erected the first wooden house in Papanui. They shipped the house in pieces from England and carried it from Lyttelton to Papanui where it was bolted together. The obituary also mentions that Green’s Road was named after her father Harry Green. George Rowney Green’s will in 1860 doesn’t mention him owning any land in New Zealand. The family trees on the ancestry website were full of mistakes and the most common mistake was confusion between Christchurch in New Zealand and Christchurch in Dorset.

Drainage issues and flooding problems were frequently mentioned. William and Annie Aitken were also frequently mentioned as living on this street yet when I researched this family recently for Major Aitken Drive the electoral rolls gave their address as the military hospital in Cashmere. There wasn’t many houses on this street and there was at least two market gardens. Several entries for one of the market gardeners. Frederick Richardson in 1927 collapsed and was taken to hospital and he was described as an elderly man. In 1929 he was charged with attempted murder and his age was 56. He claimed that someone had left a gate open and shot them. He died in 1951 aged 78. In 1969 there was 6 acres of market garden for auction but there weren’t any buyers. In 1977 the Seventh Day Adventist Church wanted to set up a school on this land but the residents on the street objected to this. One reason was that the land frequently flooded. In 1978 there was talk about turning it into a park. For many years there was a sawmill on this street until it was destroyed by a fire in 1968 and the fire was arson.

There are still 4 houses from 1920 on this street but they didn’t stand out or were interesting looking. A few houses from every decade especially 1990s. I was surprised that the valuation website said that there were 152 properties here as the street didn’t seem long enough. The Ngaio Marsh retirement home counted for at least half the properties on the street. Several big empty sections on the street and there is also a cycleway on this street. The history of the street was more interesting than the street and I didn’t even take any photos.