Ashgrove Terrace in the suburb of Somerfield, Christchurch

Ashgrove Tce – formerly River Road and Ashgrove Road. River Road was renamed Ashgrove Road by the Spreydon Road Board in 1911. First appears in street directories in 1913. Becomes Ashgrove Terrace by 1917.

A small amount of information from the library website. Ash trees were mentioned a few times in Papers Past in connection with this area. There was possibly a property with the name Ashgrove but I couldn’t find one in this area. I checked old maps and River Rd ran from where modern day Ashbrook Lane is to Barrington St. Ashgrove Rd ran from Barrington St to Colombo St. Both streets going by a map dated 1929 were Ashgrove Terrace.

River Rd was a very common name in Christchurch and I mostly just found entries about a pumping station in Cashmere. Ashgrove Rd was mostly just ads about heifers and cows for a Mr J Bird who owned a farm near Colombo St.

In 1918 a footpath was to be constructed. In the 1920s there were complaints about the condition of the road because of the heavily loaded vehicles from the shingle pit. The residents requested a bridge across the river including a foot bridge. Wilderness Drain is mentioned. A subdivison is approved subject to accepting responsibility for the reserve.

Note the library website says that street is in the suburb of Somerfield but it probably is in more than one suburb.

In the 1930s Alfred Thomas Smart died and his land was subdivided. His garden became AShgrove Reserve. In 1939 an unidentified newborn male baby’s body was found in the river. The street was flooded in 1936. There was flooding again in 1941. There was discussion about a new hospital to be built nearby. This was obviously built on Cashmere Rd. In 1951 a new secondary school is proposed. Land was purchased in1954 and in the same year residents in the area objected to a school being built.

In 1960 there were complaints about city council workers using the native bush in front of a house as a toilet. In 1967 there were sections available. More sections available in the 1970s. There were obviously many death notices over the years.

I actually walked this street in February 2024 and I did the research then so I don’t know why I didn’t write it up. I parked up near Ashgrove Reserve so that I could hid a geocache in the reserve. The plaque at this reserve has been stolen which is very annoying. I walked to Colombo St and then back to where I had parked my car which is why my photos are a bit out of order. I doublechecked google maps to refresh my memory and there is a sign for She Chocolaterie at the Colombo St end and I don’t recall this being there when I actually walked the street. There is a house at this end dating from 1910 but it is hidden behind lots of trees. The houses on this street date from every decade and many are lovely. Thankfully there isn’t many modern ugly toilet block style on this street. I managed to get a photo of a gorgeous house from the 1920s plus a photo of an Art Deco house. There is a walkway to Cashmere High School from this street and a huge number of badly parked cars at the entrance to the walkway. There is also an entrance to Cashmere Retirement Home from this street. There is a church for the Latter Day Saints here and it looks like a fairly modern building and nothing on Papers Past about it. The buildings are obviously on only one side of the street as the other side is the Heathcote River. The river is the reason for the street occasionally flooding but many of the houses seem to be built on a slight rise and possibly safe from being flooded.