The transformation of the land was administered jointly between the Trustees of the estate and the local Board of Health. After much discussion, the land was drained and then laid out and planted with trees. Paths were constructed using 100 tons of furnace slag that had been donated by Joseph Peasexiv. Some of these paths still survive (although they are now surfaced with tarmac), notably the straight-line path near the southern boundary.

At this time, the idea of a public park was very much a novelty. The nearest one was in Manchester and this had only been open since 1846. There were several in London, but these were all laid out while still in private ownership before being acquired by public authorities. A public park created from scratch was still a rarity. The earliest example of this was Birkenhead Park in Liverpool which had opened in 1843.

It is not known who designed the layout.