Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Hackthorne Road – Thornhill Crescent was incorporated into Hackthorne Road. Named after Hackthorn Hall, the home in Hackthorn, Lincolnshire, England of the Cracroft family. Sir John Cracroft-Wilson (1808-1881) was a judge, farmer and politician. His mother was Elizabeth Cleminta Wilson, née Cracroft. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography says Wilson “conducted himself as a selfconscious …

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Kiteroa Place – Kiteroa means: the long view. First appears in street directories in 1995.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can really add to it. I could tell that it was a newer street as there was a footpath on only one side of the road. There are …

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Pentre Terrace and this street isn’t on the library website yet the QV had at least three houses built in the 1970s. Not many houses here and most are set well off the road with large sections. A couple of rebuilds and one empty section where it is obvious that the house has been demolished. …

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Welles Street – Marton Street and Belfast Street. Re-named Welles Street. Named because of the well once there. Martin Street (note spelling) appears on an 1879 map. The Marton Street well is referred to in the Star in 1895. Marton Street first appears in street directories in 1900. Re-named Belfast Street in 1911. Re-named Welles …

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Southwark Street – Formerly George Street. Named after George Allen (1805- 1871). Re-named Southwark Street. Named after the bishopric of Southwark. Allen was a market gardener, carrier and proprietor of the New Zealander Hotel. He left £20 in his will to the City Council to form George Street. The balance was to be paid on …

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Quill Lane – Named in 1978. First appears in street directories in 1981.A small amount of information from the library website for a street that I wasn’t aware existed. Found a huge amount of information on Papers Past. I googled Quill Lane and Quakestudies had information from archaeological report after the earthquakes about a company …

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Mortimer Place – A blind alley laid out in 1873. At a city council meeting held on 5 April 1880 councillors were told that Mortimer Place has been “channelled, formed and shingled”. First appears in street directories in 1885. A small amount of information from the library website. The earliest information I could find on …

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Eaton Place- The first sale of land adjoining Eaton Place was on 11 April 1874. The land belonged to Thomas Maberly Hassal (1834- 1879), a merchant. He and other residents of the street paid towards the formation of the street. In 1876 a petition signed by several ratepayers was received, asking that the street be …

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Allen Street – Named after George Allen (1805-1871). Allen, a market gardener and carrier, owned the New Zealander Hotel. His widow, Lizzie, née Westwood, (1826- 1910) married John Etherden Coker (1832- 1894) in 1872 and he built Coker’s Hotel (demolished 2011 following earthquake damage) on the land she had inherited from her first husband. Allen …

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Rope Street – Formerly Lyttelton Street. Named at the request of the residents to honour the visit to Christchurch of George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton (1817-1876), in 1868. Re-named Stafford Street. Probably named after Edward William Stafford (1819-1901). Re-named Truro Street. Named after Truro, a cathedral town in Cornwall. Re-named Rope Street. Lyttelton Street …

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