In July 1858, William Wharton, gifted land from the southern part of his Dryburn estate, to the City of Durham, for use as a public park. The park remained much as originally designed until the inter-war period of the 20th century. (1).
It is known that in 1919 the park contained a war memorial tank, however, the present location and fate of this memorial is unknown (2).

This site is included on the Local List of Historic Parks, Gardens and Designed Landscapes and is an important part of the County's cultural heritage. The site boundaries should be considered informative rather than definitive, and in some cases are still mapped as 'uncertain'. These boundaries represent the current understanding of where the main features of the asset are likely to lie within. For more information contact landscape@durham.gov.uk