DISTRICT PLAN – LISTED HERITAGE PLACEHERITAGE ASSESSMENT – STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

HERITAGE ITEM NUMBER 168FORMER DWELLINGS AND SETTING, BLACKHEATHPLACE – 65, 71 AND 77 DURHAM STREET SOUTH,

CHRISTCHURCH

PHOTOGRAPH: M. VAIRPIOVA, 2015

HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCEHistorical and social values that demonstrate or are associated with: a particular person,group, organisation, institution, event, phase or activity; the continuity and/or change of aphase or activity; social, historical, traditional, economic, political or other patterns.

The terraced houses of Blackheath Place at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street have historical andsocial significance for their long-standing association with the Hitchings family and their placein the suburb of Sydenham. The original ten houses of Blackheath Place were built in stagesbetween 1875 and 1898, by members of the Hitchings family, as a mixture of family andrental accommodation. Of the surviving original portion of the complex, three houses wereconstructed in c1896 by Frank Hitchings, and the other houses in c1898 by his son Richard.

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Bricklayer, chimneysweep and amateur astronomer, Frank Hitchings (1843-1921) emigratedwith his family from Blackheath, London in 1869. Hitchings built an observatory in hisbackyard at Blackheath Place from where he could record his observations of sunspots. Histelescope had a larger aperture than that at Canterbury College and he also built aphotographic darkroom behind his terrace after his retirement. Hitchings was made amember of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1902 and is buried in Sydenham Cemetery.

Most of the houses remained in Hitchings family ownership until 1983. In 1984 the northernsix houses were converted into office units; the four older houses to the south weredemolished in 1985 and a replica terrace built in their place. The surviving Hitchings’ houseshave social significance as the direct translation of a form of intensive housing common in19th century Britain, the terraced house, into a colonial context where it was often consideredan inappropriate manifestation of the ills of the old country, and frequently discouraged byauthorities. Blackheath Place is also significant as evidence of a property developmentundertaken by a working class colonist who supported his large family partly with the rentalincome he derived from the terraced houses that he himself lived in.

CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCECultural and spiritual values that demonstrate or are associated with the distinctivecharacteristics of a way of life, philosophy, tradition, religion, or other belief, including: thesymbolic or commemorative value of the place; significance to Tangata Whenua; and/orassociations with an identifiable group and esteemed by this group for its cultural values.

Blackheath Place has cultural significance for its association with the way of life embodied inthe British terraced house typology and as evidence of the translation of cultural conventionsand practices relating to housing from Britain to New Zealand. Blackheath Place is anexample of the tradition of long term generational ownership with the Hitchings familyretaining the property for over a century. The houses are also valued as an example of1980s heritage conservation, albeit with the loss of the four oldest terraced dwellings in theblock.

ARCHITECTURAL AND AESTHETIC SIGNIFICANCEArchitectural and aesthetic values that demonstrate or are associated with: a particular style,period or designer, design values, form, scale, colour, texture and material of the place.

Blackheath Place dwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street have architectural and aestheticsignificance as an example, in both its design and construction, of English terraced housingby an owner-occupier who was an English born bricklayer by trade. The historic section ofBlackheath Place has rarity value as a housing type in both Christchurch and New Zealandand demonstrates the vernacular styling that would have been known to Frank Hitchingsfrom his early life in London. The six houses built for rental by Frank and Richard Hitchingsare two-storeyed with sash windows, a bay window beside each entrance door andornamental detail above the door, bay window and at eaves level. Research to date has notestablished the source of Hitchings’s bricks, but the Sydenham Cemetery Tour notes thatMargaret Hitchings helped her husband Frank in his business by stacking bricks in the yardbehind their terrace house. The hipped roof is topped by corbelled chimneys that werereinstated in 1995. In addition to the late 1980s replica terrace that replaced the original fourhouses and extends around into Wordsworth Street, additional terraces were built at the rearof the property after 1991.

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TECHNOLOGICAL AND CRAFTSMANSHIP SIGNIFICANCETechnological and craftsmanship values that demonstrate or are associated with: the natureand use of materials, finishes and/or technological or constructional methods which wereinnovative, or of notable quality for the period.

The Blackheath Place dwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street have technologicalsignificance as an example of late 19th century brick masonry construction. The houses havecraftsmanship significance as examples of the bricklayer's art: each of the surviving houseshas a decorative bay window, arched entrance porch and moulded brick corbels under theeaves.

CONTEXTUAL SIGNIFICANCEContextual values that demonstrate or are associated with: a relationship to the environment(constructed and natural), a landscape, setting, group, precinct or streetscape; a degree ofconsistency in terms of type, scale, form, materials, texture, colour, style and/or detail;recognised landmarks and landscape which are recognised and contribute to the uniqueidentity of the environment.

The Blackheath Place dwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street and setting have contextualsignificance for the contribution they makes to the Sydenham streetscape, both thanks to itstypology and positioning close to the road frontage and in relation to the area’s commercialand industrial heritage. The replica terraces at the corner of Durham and Wordsworth Streetand at the rear of the property highlight the distinctive form and construction material of thehistoric 1890s terrace. Until their demolition following the 2010 and 2011 Canterburyearthquakes the semi-detached timber houses in Chester Street East were comparable tothe Blackheath Place dwellings as a type although of a larger scale and size.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCEArchaeological or scientific values that demonstrate or are associated with: the potential toprovide information through physical or scientific evidence an understanding about socialhistorical, cultural, spiritual, technological or other values of past events, activities, structuresor people.

The Blackheath Place dwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street and setting are ofarchaeological significance because of the potential to provide archaeological evidencerelating to past building construction methods and materials, and human activity on the site,including that which occurred prior to 1900.

ASSESSMENT STATEMENT

The Blackheath Place dwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street and associated setting haveoverall significance to Christchurch, including Banks Peninsula. The six surviving Hitchings’terraced houses have historical and social significance for their association with FrankHitchings and his family and as an example of British terraced housing, which was generallythought to be contrary to New Zealanders’ desire for detached dwellings on individual

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sections. The original ten houses of Blackheath Place were built in stages between 1875 and1898, by members of the Hitchings family, as a mixture of family and rental accommodation.Blackheath Place has cultural significance for its association with the way of life embodied inthe British terraced house typology and as evidence of the translation of cultural conventionsand practices relating to housing from Britain to New Zealand. Blackheath Place is also anexample of the tradition of long term generational ownership with the Hitchings familyretaining the property for over a century. They have architectural and aesthetic significancefor the rarity of this housing type in New Zealand. The Blackheath Place dwellings havetechnological and craftsmanship significance for their masonry construction and as examplesof the bricklayer's art of two generations of the Hitchings family. The Blackheath Placedwellings at 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street and setting have contextual significance for thecontribution they make to the Sydenham streetscape, in regards to their typology andpositioning close to the road frontage, and in relation to the area’s commercial and industrialheritage. The dwellings and setting have archaeological significance in view of the date atwhich development first occurred on this property.

REFERENCES:

Christchurch City Council Heritage files 65, 71 and 77 Durham Street South, BlackheathPlaceHistoric place # 1829 – Heritage NZ List: http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/1829Arch 774, The Community Archive, Christchurch City Librarieshttp://thecommunityarchive.org.nz/node/67667/descriptionRichard Greenaway Sydenham Cemetery Tour (Christchurch, June 2007)http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Cemeteries/Sydenham/SydenhamCemetery.pdf

REPORT DATED: 9 MARCH, 2015

PLEASE NOTE THIS ASSESSMENT IS BASED ON INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF WRITING. DUE TOTHE ONGOING NATURE OF HERITAGE RESEARCH, FUTURE REASSESSMENT OF THIS HERITAGE ITEM MAY BE

NECESSARY TO REFLECT ANY CHANGES IN KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF ITS HERITAGESIGNIFICANCE.

PLEASE USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CCC HERITAGE FILES.

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