The naming of ‘Eden Street’ and the subsequent use of Old Testament names for several of the streets in the neighbourhood (Adam and Eve Street and Paradise Street) is known to have derived from the market gardens called ‘Garden of Eden’ that occupied the site when the area was first developed in 1848. This name MAY have had its origins in the history of the Priory of Barnwell (Augustinian priory founded in c.1092, dissolved 1538). Medieval gardens were important in monastic life and close parallels were drawn between earthy and allegorical gardens.
We were therefore delighted to hear that the area’s centuries-old gardening tradition is alive and well in Eden Street. Sharon Carpenter, who has been running the Eden Street WhatsApp group, has sent a collection of photographs and informs us that “lots of pictures of plants and gardens have been shared to raise morale, to say thank you, or simply to give those shielding a view of the outside world during lockdown. Rhubarb, tomato plants, plant cuttings and pots have been shared”.
