English lord celebrates long family ties with College
19 Nov 2025
An English lord, whose late brother attended Christ’s College from 1957–60, visited us as part of his week-long stay in Christchurch to mark Canterbury’s 175th anniversary.
The celebratory visit was made possible by Dr Te Maire Tau and his wife, Gabreille Huria, together with Humphry and Debra Rolleston.
Lord and Lady Cobham (Chris and Tessa) toured the College with Headmaster Joe Eccleton and the Rollestons, marvelling at the changes since their last visit in 2016, most particularly Upper West and the treasures in our museum.
Before 2006, the affable Lord Cobham was known as the Hon Christopher Lyttelton and his family has long connections with both the port town of Lyttelton and College.
The 4th Baron Lyttelton (Lord Lyttelton) was Chairman of the Canterbury Association when it was founded in 1850 and was regarded as making an important contribution to the practical settlement process. His direct male descendant, his great grandson, became Governor General of New Zealand (1957–62), not as the 7th Baron Lyttelton but as Lord Cobham.
However, his sons were called the Hon. John Lyttelton and the Hon. Christopher Lyttelton.
‘Johnny’ Lyttelton (6710) boarded at Christ's College during his father’s tenure as Governor General but his younger brother, Christopher, wasn’t old enough and went to school in Wellington.
Johnny had no offspring and when he died in 2006, Christopher inherited the title of Lord Cobham together with the Lyttelton family seat, Hagley Hall in Stourbridge.
Lord and Lady Cobham treasure their connections to New Zealand.
“When we were last here in 2016, Christchurch was still recovering from the earthquakes so it’s amazing to see now what has been achieved over the past 10 years.”
