Old Stone House - Cracroft House Servants Quarters

Old Stone House also known as Cracroft house, was built by Sir John Cracroft Wilson in 1870 to house his Indian servants. A long and colourful history clothes the building that has long been at the centre of the Cashmere community, as Wilson was the original run-holder of the Cashmere estate (named for his birthplace Kashmir). After housing Wilson's servants for decades, both those he brought from India, and later locally sourced labour, Old Stone House then served the community when it was requisitioned for accommodation during WWI, then for Signals during WWII, later becoming home to Canterbury's Girl Guiding movement Student Christian movement, and as, and now a wedding and function venue. After a fire reduced it to a shell in the 1970s, a mammoth effort brought about a full restoration only for the 2011 earthquakes to again cause significant damage. The building was reopened in 2018 after a painstaking and expensive complete rebuild by specialist stonemasons.
The grounds of the former Cashmere homestead and Old Stone House have a life of their own and are still widely used as a recreational reserve, most especially by the Girl Guideswho have their own buildings on the grounds.
For the full story see the Heritage Entry.