Windsor House is situated on a piece of land at the corner of New Brighton and Horseshoe Lake Roads, right on the boundary between Shirley and Burwood. In 1954 a resolution was passed by the Christchurch Rotary Club - at that time celebrating the 50th anniversary of the organisation - to raise funds for a new home for the elderly. £50,000 was their target, which they duly raised and then put into trust until it was required.
Mr Ernest Adams, a well known Shirley resident and Rotarian, then donated a building site on the corner of New Brighton Road. Mr Adams had an egg farm there and used the eggs to make the cakes that he is now famous throughout New Zealand for.
There was considerable discussion about the name, for the new Home. In the end the Aged Peoples Welfare Council decided to name the institution Windsor House.
Messrs. Helmore, Cotterill and Fenton were the architects and they designed a brick veneered building which cost around £150,000. On October 6, 1958, the foundation stone was laid at the entrance to the building by Mr Clifford Randall of U.S.A., President of Rotary International. The official opening took place on November 27, 1959, and the Governor-General, Lord Cobham performed the ceremony.
A board of governors was then appointed to look after the home's administrative affairs. Information about current services and personnel at Windsor House can be found on the ElderNet website.
Sources
- Greenaway, R.L. Church on a Sandhill : All Saints Burwood, 1877-1967. Copycraft, Christchurch 1967
- "Windsor House opens", The Press, 26 November 1959, p 24.
- "Lord Cobham opens home for the aged", The Press, 27 November 1959, p 9.
