Unlock your home’s history at a Carter Group Heritage Week Restoration Workshop

27 September 2005

The City Council heritage team fields a few calls a year from people wanting to know who the ghost is that haunts their house or a little more about the history of their home.

One of the free Carter Group Heritage Week Restoration Workshops, to be held from 2pm-3pm on Saturday, 8 October, at the Christchurch Arts Centre, aims to address just such homeowner issues. Bookings are essential on phone 365 2486, as place numbers are limited.

While there are a lot of heritage specialists who can help, why not have a go yourself? Research is the first stage of any conservation and restoration work, and Gareth Wright, Heritage Researcher for the New Zealand Historic Places Trust will take people step by step through ‘Researching the history of your home’ during his workshop. 

Mr Wright has been researching Christchurch’s history and heritage for many years for the local branch of the Historic Places Trust and the City Council.  He also works part time as a guide at the Canterbury Provincial Buildings and lives in the City Council-owned historic Chokebore Lodge.   

His workshop aims to answer such questions as:
Is the building already heritage listed?
Who was it built for, and when?
Who were the past owners?
Who was the architect?
What alterations have been made and when? 

The workshop will add to your genealogical research skills and hopefully add to your own family history. Some people even research the history of their home to find out who the ghost is that appears to be haunting their house, or to inform Feng Shui techniques.

People usually need to look at a wide range of sources to piece together the story a building and the associated people and events. The workshop shows you how to source original plans and photographs to get an idea of what your house would have looked like in past times. 

Mr Wright will take you through all available archives for heritage research and unlock the mysteries of historical Certificates of Title, drainage plans, street directories and building permit records. 

To get the best out of the workshop, come ready with your questions and information gathered on your house to date, and get inspiration on where to look next. In the meantime you can get research advice on line from the following sites:

http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Christchurch/Heritage/Information/HeritageResearchForBuildings.asp
 
and

http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Heritage/Publications/HouseResearch/

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