‘By 1846 an Act of Parliament was passed which authorised the plan. James Pennethorne and John Gibson, both of whom had worked on Victoria Park in Hackney, created the design. They elected to raise and level the ground on which the park was to be built, and so 750,000 tons of soil was excavated from nearby Surrey Docks. The park was finally finished in 1854, and was officially opened four years later by Queen Victoria, alongside its neighbouring Chelsea Bridge.’