This wooden bridge over the Avon was constructed for Joseph Cornish Helmore, who at the time owned 50 acres of land on the north bank of the river. Helmore obtained permission from the Canterbury Provincial Government to construct a road through his block and to erect a bridge, at his expense, over the Avon. The completion of the bridge and road in 1866 opened up the area for subdivision. The bridge itself is a timber beam bridge typical of its era and consists of three spans, two of approximately 4.5 metres and a centre span of approximately 9 metres. It is now subject to load restrictions. The Helmore's Lane Bridge is significant as the only surviving nineteenth-century timber bridge in Christchurch.