Ebrington Place

A stroll along the lower reaches of the Hēnui Walkway will take you along Ebrington Place.

This short cul-de-sac appears on Frederic Carrington’s original map of New Plymouth, dated 1842. It was one of the town’s only roads to deviate from his rigid rectangular grid system to take account of local topography.

According to a list of street names and their origins compiled by historian Fred Butler, Ebrington Place was named “at the request of an early settler, Captain J.G. Cooke, after an intimate friend of his.”

Captain Cooke arrived in New Plymouth aboard the Amelia Thompson in September 1841. He then bought land and built a house east of the town near the Hēnui Stream.

Although Captain Cooke may have had a good friend named Ebrington, it’s also possible that the road is named after Earl Fortescue, otherwise known as Viscount or Lord Ebrington.

The 2nd Viscount Ebrington was a British Whig politician first elected to parliament in 1818 as the MP for Barnstable. He represented various Devon constituencies until 1839, when he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1841 his son, the 3rd Earl, followed in his father’s footsteps and was elected MP for Plymouth, a seat he held until 1852.

The Fortescue family owned a manor in Gloucestershire close to the village of Ebrington. This small Cotswold village is located about 3.2 kilometres from the town of Chipping Camden.  Hidecote Manor, a National Trust property, is located nearby and is said to have one of the most striking gardens in England.

Of course it’s possible that Captain Cooke moved in aristocratic circles and that his close friend was Lord Ebrington himself.

What we do know is that this picturesque stretch of road was also known as Lovers’ Walk for many years.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.