Spencer Place

Regular readers of this column will know that by the 1970s - when this road was formed - many street names had a local flavour. However, even at this time, just as many reflected our connection with the English city of Plymouth. Spencer Place was one of these, chosen from a list compiled by the then New Plymouth City Council, some of which came straight from a map of the city on the south coast of England.

Enquiries to both the Plymouth City Museum and the Plymouth & West Devon Record Office as to the origin of their "Spencer Road" have proved inconclusive. The senior archivist at the Plymouth & West District Records Office suggests that it could either be named after Mr J W Spencer, a prominent local builder, or perhaps somehow connected with the legal firm Edwin Broad and Spencer.

Nigel Overton, a curator at the Plymouth City Museum, has another, perhaps more intriguing, theory. Spencer Road was originally part of an area once owned by the Duke of Bedford, who was connected by marriage to the late Princess Diana's Spencer family. Nigel points out that Spencer Road in Plymouth is adjacent to Bedford Rd, lending some support to his idea.

It appears therefore that the residents of Spencer Place can take their pick from a number of possible origins. What we do know is that the subdivision was another project undertaken by the local firm Riddick Bros & Still.

The 14 sections included one that would eventually become recognised as one of New Zealand's premier native gardens, Te Kainga Marire. The garden haven, a regular in the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival, has been rated a Garden of International Significance and also featured in a BBC documentary, Around the World in 80 Gardens.

The other residents of the street also clearly take a pride in their properties; Spencer Place was recognised by the New Plymouth District Council as "Street of the Year" in 1997.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.