Neighbourhood Studies
Oram's Arbour and St James's Lane
1 The Origin of the Name of the Area
Clifton Terrace
The area as a whole does not have a generally recognised name. Oram's Arbour itself is central to the northern part of the area and St James's Lane and St James's Terrace are very distinctive features of the southern half; hence "Oram's Arbour and St James's Lane". The name "Oram's" originated after an Alexander Oram took a lease from the City Authorities on an "arbour" in 1698, also described in the lease as a "pasture" (land on which to graze animals). Chambers Dictionary refers to the Anglo-French word "herber", meaning grass, leading to confusion with the Latin word "arbor", meaning tree. We cannot be certain of this derivation of "arbour" but it did not, in this case, mean "a shady retreat enclosed mainly by trees or climbing plants". " Other older names include "Erdberi" and "Her bur". The land continued to be leased by the City for many years until it was fully opened for recreational use, but it seems the citizens had recreational rights on this land from much earlier times.