Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Somerfield St in Somerfield – Named because it runs through the suburb of Somerfield which, in turn, is named after Somerfield House near Maidstone, Kent, England. Somerfield House was the birthplace of Edward Brenchley Bishop (1811-1887), chairman of the Town Council in 1866 and mayor of Christchurch 1872- 1873. He and his younger brother Frederick …

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Hadfield Courts at 15 Somerfield St. I decided to do a separate write up for this address. The units were opened in the 1970s as pensioner housing but is now social housing. When I was researching Somerfield St the name John Hadfield kept popping up. He really enjoyed writing letters to the editor and was …

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Stenness Ave in Somerfield – Probably named after Stenness in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. First mentioned in The Press in 1928. First appears in street directories in 1929, running off Selwyn Street. A tiny amount of information from the library website. This street was in the same 1925 subdivision as Cardiff Ave. Several entries on …

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Cardiff Ave in Somerfield and nothing on library website. This is a bit surprising as the street has been around since 1925. I looked at a map of Spreydon from 1912 and this map is very useful for this this area. There was one big section that went from Somerfield St to what is now …

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Holcombe Place in Somerfield – formerly Halcombe Place. Halcombe Place first appears in street directories in 1947. Becomes Holcombe Place in 1948. A tiny amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find anything on Papers Past about the naming of the street. Both spellings of the name were used in ads and articles …

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Bard St in Somerfield – formerly Grey Street. Grey Street first appears in street directories in 1941. Re-named Bard Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were renamed. A tiny amount of information from the library website. It was almost impossible to find out information about Grey St as there was thousands of entries …

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Baretta St in Somerfield – Named after Frederick Baretta (1846?-1916). Several Italians were brought to New Zealand to quarry and dress the stone quarried on the north slope of Marleys Hill. Baretta was one of these and lived in nearby Dunn Street. First mentioned in The Press in 1904 when sections in Baretta Street, “Castellan …

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Dunn St in Somerfield – formerly Dunn’s Road and Dunn Road. Dunn’s Road is first mentioned in the Star in 1885. First appears in street directories in 1902. Becomes Dunn Street in 1914. A tiny amount of information from the library website. Papers Past didn’t have any entries for Dunn Road. Not many entries for …

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Leitch St in Somerfield – Probably named after Daniel Leitch. Leitch was living at nearby 49 Wordsworth Street in 1904. First mentioned in The Press in 1880. In the Star in 1900 it is described as a “continuation of Smollett Street”. First appears in street directories in 1909. A small amount of information from the …

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Penrith Ave in Somerfield – formerly Penrith Street. Penrith Street was named in 1937. Penrith Avenue first appears in street directories in 1940. A tiny amount of information from the library website. Going by brief article in 1937 about naming of the new street it was called Penrith Street but it seems to have been …

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