Hamlet Lane – nothing on library website about this lane. There are two possible reasons for this name and one is that the developer liked Shakespeare especially as there is a Cordelia Lane nearby. The other possible reason for the name relates to another nearby street called Pawaho which is named after Pawaho Hamlet.
It is hard to say if it is a brand new street or just lots of rebuilds here.With a little bit of googling and it looks like most houses were built in 2000s. The street ends at a grassy area and the railway line. I would imagine that it could get noisy with the trains going past especially as it would be freight trains. One house had a lot of native plants. The houses didn’t really stand out for me but I think this street might have had one of the Christmas decorated letterboxes.

Newbery Street – Probably named after Newbury in Berkshire, England. Newbury Street first appears in street directories in 1916. Re-named Newbery Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named.
A small amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find any more information on Papers Past. Found both spellings on Papers Past being used at the same time. Older houses here which were built in 1920s and 1940s. There was a big house that is called Newbery House and I now wish that I had got a photo of it. Apparently it was built 80 years ago on the site of a house that was built in 1850. The original house was owned by a John Shearing Willis but I couldn’t find out that he had any connection to Newbury. The modern looking building is the back entrance to a nursing home called Chatswood. Opawa school has an entrance on this street and I took a photo of street art at the school.

Kitchener Place – Named after Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the Earl of Khartoum, usually known as Lord Kitchener (1850-1916). Kitchener visited Christchurch in 1910. First mentioned in The Press in 1945. First appears in street directories in 1947.

A wee bit of information from the library website and I can’t add anything extra. The houses in the street were all built in the 1940s and were wooden. I only managed one photo but there were two other houses that I would have loved to have got photos of as they were interesting. It was a lovely and tidy wee street.
My guess would be that the houses were built for or by returning servicemen which why the name of the street. Also Kitchener had a country seat near Canterbury in Kent so there is that link.It was possibly too raw to use names from WWII which is why a name from WWI was used but that is pure guesswork from me.

Ford Road – Named because it was the site of a ford across the Heathcote River used by early settlers travelling from Lyttelton to Christchurch. First appears in street directories in 1906.
A wee bit of information from the library website.I couldn’t find much more information on-line but think that it had been known by this name long before 1906. Ford Rd was a very common name for roads.The best article was dated 7th May 1920 in Papers Past and it mentioned that the road was called Ford Rd because of the ford and not because of a Mr Ford living in the area. Apparently it was a common belief that the road was named after a person. There were tenders for building the new Opawa school on Ford Rd as the old Opawa school was nearly 50 years old.This article also had someone complaining about using Maori names and that the council should stick to using English names.

This street had some lovely old wooden villas here. There were a couple of rebuilds and a couple of empty sections. The brick place where the peacock lives is apparently an old stable. I ended up chatting to a young woman who lives there and this property is divided into several flats.The school is still on this road.

The stables was possibly called Ball’s Stables. I also found a J T Ford & Co who was an auctioneer and wool broker but couldn’t find out what the initials J T stood for. This will be why the locals felt that Ford Rd was named after a person.

Lichfield Lane and Courtyard. Nothing on library website and is probably a new development. It runs from Tuam St to Lichfield St but the interesting part is from Lichfield St to Ash St. Between Ash St and Tuam it just looks like the back entrances to businesses on Madras St and Poplar St.
There were restaurants here but sadly they have closed because of financial issues. One was a new business that barely lasted two years.The other was an old favorite but will confess that it had been ages since I had had a meal there. I don’t eat out very often as my spare money goes into my travel fund.
There was some great street art here.

Ash Street – formerly Elm Street and Beech Street. Elm Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1892 when the Christchurch City Council made it a public street. First appears in street directories in 1906. Re-named Beech Street in 1926 when 21 streets were re-named. Re-named Ash Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. No information on Papers Past.
I didn’t take photos here as it just looked like a gloried alleyway. It runs from Poplar St to Madras St and there was at least one cafe here.
I am assuming that the street is named after a tree going by previous names. No trees here these days just concrete.

Rauora Park and Bedford Terrace. Nothing on library website as this area has been developed since the earthquakes. Most of the original buildings were demolished. It is an area bounded by Armagh St, Manchester St, Lichfield St and Madas St.

It is an open area that has been landscaped and is still being developed. Down by Lichfield St there is a row of brand new apartments and the sign said that they are Bedford Terrace. I am assuming that they have this name because of Bedford Row that would have been behind these apartments. I am going to have to go back to see if Bedford Row is still there.
The information about Rauora Park says that the name means well being.

Poplar Street – The council made it a public street on 10 October 1892. First appears in street directories in 1919.

A small amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find any information on Papers Past apart from lots of ads for a furniture factory. In later years this street became a popular area with bars and cafes. This area was hit hard by the earthquakes as the bars were in old buildings. There are still a couple of bars here but it is looking very empty. There was so many people in Dux Central that I couldn’t manage any photos. There was a tiny square here called Vanguard Square which is new since the earthquakes and isn’t on the library website.
I suspect that this street was named after a district in London called Poplar rather than the trees.

Latimer Square – Named after Hugh Latimer (1492?- 1555), Bishop of Worcester 1535- 1539. One of the original streets of Christchurch named by Captain Joseph Thomas (b. 1803?) and Edward Jollie (1825-1894). The names were taken from bishoprics listed in Burke’s Peerage. Latimer Square, Cranmer Square and Ridley (later Cathedral) Square are all named after martyred bishops.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website and there is nothing that I can add to this. Several new apartments have been built here replacing older buildings that were damaged in the earthquakes. There are a couple of older buildings including The Christchurch Club. The Christchurch Club is a wonderful old building and peering through the locked gates I could see a plaque. There are still empty sections here. I just can’t remember what was here before the earthquakes. I can remember when you could drive through the middle of Latimer Square on Worcester Street. I can’t remember when this section was closed to traffic and it would have been within the last 20 years. Sadly this area was very busy after the earthquakes and where most of the rescue teams were based.

High Street – Formerly Sumner Road. Named after the bishopric of Sumner. Re-named Lower High Street and later High Street. Probably named after a street in Oxford, England, The High, as Christchurch itself was named after the college in Oxford. Sumner Road was named by surveyors Captain Joseph Thomas (b. 1803?) and Edward Jollie (1825-1894) and is one of the original streets of Christchurch named in 1850. The names were taken from bishoprics listed in Burke’s Peerage. The 1850 map shows it originally ran from Hereford Street to St Asaph Street. An 1874 map shows Sumner Road extending as far as the East Belt (later Fitzgerald Avenue). By 1875 this section has been re-named Ferry Road; by 1890 it has been re-named Lower High Street.

A lot of information from the library website but I am not sure it is entirely correct. When it was named Sumner Rd this is likely to have been named after John Bird Sumner who was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1849 and he was President of the Canterbury Association. I have searched Burke’s Peerage and Bishopric list and can find no Sumner Bishopric and there is no place name of Sumner in the UK. To be a bishopric there would have to be a city with that name.

The name High Street could be named after a street in Oxford but honestly every town, city and tiny village in the UK has a High Street. I suspect that it was given the name High Street because it was where most the original shops were.
If anyone can find any other reason for the names I would love to know,
This street was badly damaged in the earthquakes because there were a lot of old and heritage buildings here. Towards the centre of the city there are the newer buildings and you can see that there are still damaged buildings at the other end. In some places new and old are next to each other.
Bookcrossers will remember the coffee shop where we had a bookshelf and sadly that coffee shop is long gone. Our books were buried in the rubble.