Cranmer Centre 1.65

The Cranmer Centre was a historic building in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its original use, until 1986, was as the Christchurch Girls' High School, the second high school for girls in the country. Registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building, it was purchased by Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust in 2001, and demolished in May 2011 following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.GeographyThe centre was located on the south-west corner of Armagh and Montreal Streets by Cranmer Square. On the opposite side was the Christchurch Normal School, later renamed Cranmer Court. The Christchurch heritage tram passed the building on its central city circuit along Armagh Street.HistoryThe Cranmer Centre is named after Cranmer Square, which takes its name from Thomas Cranmer, founder of the Church of England.Christchurch Girls' High, the second high school for girls in New Zealand, was established in 1877. It was preceded by Otago Girls' High School, which is believed to be the oldest secondary girls' school in the Southern Hemisphere. After a year in temporary accommodation, the girls school moved into new premises on the corner of Hereford Street and Rolleston Avenue designed by Thomas Cane (1830–1905), immediately adjacent to the Canterbury College. That building is these days part of the Arts Centre.