A 1922 view showing 48 Canterbury Street. The house is located at left, centre of the photo. The land adjoining the house; fronting Exeter Street, has the dark patch of trees.
48 Canterbury Street, Lyttelton (T.S. 129; pt 130) is a substantially built private house originally occupied the dominant corner section of Canterbury and Exeter Street opposite the villa of Harbourmaster, Captain F.D. Gibson, which later became the Convent of Mercy.
It was a landmark-building showing up in early Lyttelton photographs of 1890 and 1922 as an attractive twin bay villa with a verandah within substantial grounds, with gardens, orchards and lawns where sheep grazed. Like towns in the Mother country the corner sections were the sought after prestigious plots so Lyttelton is no exception having the substantial buildings of the town in this position. Being a higher section, it was not built on prior to 1878 but it was leased for pastureland.
On 17th January 1852 the Canterbury Association conveyed Lyttelton Town Section 129 (T.S 129), on the corner of Exeter and Canterbury Streets, to Captain Alexander Sproul for £20. Sproul had been Captain of Fatima one of the Canterbury Association's immigrant ships that arrived in 1851. He also purchased the neighbouring sections along Exeter Street, these were the same size but cheaper due to the fact they were not on sought after corner sections; T.S. 130 was £13; T.S. 131 was £14, T.S. 132 was £13. He also bought Christchurch sections 892 - 894 on Lichfield Street and section 99 on Ferry Road. Captain Alexander Sproul was the landowner here; by 1864 he owned TS 129-135 which was the whole block along Exeter Street between Canterbury and Oxford Street and by 1864 he owned two cottages along here that still exist at what is now 16a and 14 Exeter Street; for all this land and buildings he paid £176 in rates. When he was leasing the corner section William Wales, a carter, who built several properties in the area, is recorded as living here in a house with gardens.
Lyttelton had three Harbourmasters in its Provincial years until the Lyttelton Harbour Board was formed in 1877; Captain J. Parsons 1851-1857; Captain A. Sproul 1857- 1867 and Captain F.D. Gibson 1867-1877. Captain Sproul was Lyttelton's second Harbourmaster; he replaced Captain John Parsons (of 3 Brittan Terrace, Dampiers Bay) in 1857 when this poor gentleman was diagnosed as insane. Sproul had the unenviable task of sorting out the muddles and lack of disciplined routine that the Port had developed during Captain Parson's illness and probably as a result of this received the nickname Captain Growl. Sproul was offered a salary of £100 per annum with pilotage fees extra.
By 1864 Captain Gibson was appointed as Canterbury's Port Officer, he had more experience and was better qualified than Sproul, which caused some friction between these two officers and in 1867 Sproul was de-rated and Gibson was appointed new Harbourmaster.
Sproul is recorded in the 1869-70 Provincial Electoral Roll (No. 10) for the Lyttelton District as still owning the freehold of the sections 129-132 and his place of abode is Exeter Street, photographs of Lyttelton town centre in the 1866 show an earlier house at neighbouring T.S.131 which would have been Sproul's home (this house still existed in 1911, when it was owned by Mayor Colin Cook and can be seen in Lyttelton Museum's photograph of Exeter street in 1911.)
By 1877 Sproul's occupation was listed in the rates records as Lloyds Agent; he was occupier and freehold owner of the dwelling house at TS 129-132 paying annual rates of £100, he was letting the neighbouring to R.J Brooks at £28 a month.
John H. Smith, a Lyttelton draper, was issued the property's first Certificate of Title (RB 28 Vol XXVlll folio 37) on 17th October 1877; it details the subdivided corner section T.S. 129/ T.S. 130. In 1879 and 1880 two mortgages are recorded. This indicates that the house was built c1877- 80. It is built of Kauri in a section with a large south facing front garden and was surrounded by a red stonewall. It would have been very grand in contrast to the cottages on the lower sections of Canterbury Street.
In April 1885 there is a transmission to John King, Amelia Smith (widow) and John Ballantyne (and a transfer to all three in 1900). In the 1888 rates records Amelia Smith, a draper, of Lyttelton is listed as living here.
Drapery was big business in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Mr Smith took over the well established large business from H. Hawkins; before the 1870 fire of Lyttelton Mr Hawkins was an early merchant and general storekeeper with a shop, house and store on TS 32 corner of London St and Oxford St (where Bells Chemist is today). After the great 1870 fire Mr Hawkins had a house at TS 99 and 100 the other end of London Street and his business was then on Norwich Quay at TS 11. Three generations of Smiths succeeded him as Lyttelton Drapers, finishing off as Brown and Smith, which became Browning's. (Charles Brown had started off his Drapery at TS 26 on London Street)
Amelia Smith was therefore a lady of some business importance and her house reflected her social standing. Amelia Smith lived in this large well-appointed villa for many years; the Lyttelton Borough Council rates books record her payments over the decades, in 1888 she paid the grand sum of £52 in rates, a considerable amount in those days!
The front veranda is concave with simple wooden ornamental fretwork brackets typical of this earlier period. Two large bay windows, each with three double hung sashes, are either side of a solidly built front door that is decorated with beautiful tulip design Art Nouveau glass lead light panels and matching sidelights and fanlights. This original entrance would have been accessedfrom Exeter Street. The original dining and living rooms have very high studs and beautiful ceiling roses and fireplaces. These would very probably have been chosen from the latest catalogues and shipped out from England. In the 1907 rates records Amelia is listed as retired. It is believed she died in 1939.
The Norris family lived here from the 8th February 1928 when Amelia Smith transferred the property to Mrs Hannah Norriswife of Lyttelton Butcher John Steven Norris. Mr and Mrs Johnny Norris, their son Hubert and two daughters Pearl and Mona all lived here. Johnny Norris had worked at Bundy's Butchers, where he became a bit of a local legend because of his incredible memory; he would take all the orders for the day and deliver them on horseback to customers all around Lyttelton without forgetting or muddling an order. Their daughters Mona and Pearl also worked in shops; Mona would catch the train into Christchurch each day to work at Ballantynes and Pearl was a tailoress working for H. Lublow, High Class Tailors this was an outfitters for Ladies and Gentlemen at 16, London Street where Headwaves hairdressers is now. (See photo of Pearl c.1925) Their son Hubert, who was known as Hubie, worked for the Europa oil company, he was also a keen and talented yachtsman.
Pearl worked at H.H. Lublow's tailors for seven years, she was engaged to be married, but then she became very ill; this is when the 1920s attic extension, with exterior staircase and matchlined corridor, was built. Pearl rested here during the day and enjoyed the views, sunshine and watching her yachtsman brother race on the harbour. Sadly, after a long illness, Pearl died at St. Georges Hospital on 26th August 1931. She was buried close-by in the Holy Trinity Cemetery; (i.e.the Lyttelton Anglican Cemetery, Canterbury Street)
In 1964 the house was transferred to Mona and Hubert Norris. Mona Norris never married, she left her job at Ballantynes to look after her parents in their old age, and she lived alone in this large family home until it got too big for her to manage.
The house stayed in the Norris family until 1974 when Peter Cook and David Sutton, Real Estate Agents agreed that the large front garden,facing south onto Exeter Street, would be subdivided, two flats would be built here. In exchange Mona was given a flat further along Canterbury Street.(Flat plan No. 35147 was deposited on 11.9.1974 the old title was cancelled and new C.Ts issued for Lots 1 and 2 D.P. 34685, Lot1- 14a/748 and Lot2 - 14a/749.) So from 1970 the house at Lot1 had a new side entrance from Canterbury Street. The original red stone boundary walls are still along Canterbury Street; the two new flats built within the boundaries of the Exeter Street walls hide the original house from view.
Subsequent owners: the Mackenzies, then Graham Hopkins and Graham Clitheroe(both policemen) altered the back of the house: enlarging the kitchen. Pearl Norris's attic sunroom has been improved with the building of an interior staircase. The current owners, Carey and Tim Duggan, have continued the restoration of this historic house so it is a comfortable family home by 21st century standards. The old sunroom is now a study enjoying panoramic views of the port and harbour: that reflect so much of the history connected to this beautiful historic house.
