Place Name
Paradise is frequently used for roads on the south side of churches and was also a common land or farm name. The word paradis, came into Middle English sometime around the 12thCentury from the Greek translation of the Bible where the word, parádeisos, is used for the Garden of Eden (Book of Genesis) which itself came from the Iranian word paridaiza. It had a variety of related meanings from enclosure, to park, to garden and was used for such until the 18thCentury. In this case it relates to St Mary Magdalene Church, the original church was built at the end of the 12thCentury and for 300 years was the only centre of worship in the town. First mention of the name was in the court rolls of 1716 as Paradise Row and by the 1841 a Paradise Place was also named nearby. By 1900 Paradise Villas had been built and Paradise Cottages were “reached by a footpath from Paradise Road running between Church Walk and St James’s Cottages.
