 The area which it occupies was once a part of an area of tidal marshland, known as the Deadlake; Batholomew Terrace, a road now adjacent to the park, was marked on 19th century maps of the area as Deadlake Lane.At the end of the 19th century, culverts were constructed to channel a few small streams which fed into the Deadlake, and the creek was filled in with rubble from the quarries at Oreston and Cattedown, a mile or so away.After heavy rain the culverts can become overloaded and water forces its way to the surface.