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This original Grosvenor section of the park owes its existence to the generosity of the town's first Mayor, John Stone-Wigg, who was chairman of the Local Board (forerunner of the Borough Council). He was concerned about the welfare of the workers in the industrial area around the Goods Station, so in 1885 donated 4 acres to the town for public use. This was the area around the wetland, which was combined with land owned by the Local Board (the town refuse heap, redundant reservoirs and swimming pool) to become Grosvenor Recreation Ground. Stone-Wigg paid for plans by his former Rusthall neighbour and famous landscape designer Robert Marnock.

Despite misgivings about the cost, a loan of £1800 from the Local Government Board covered the cost of the improvement works. There was extensive landscaping to create Marnock Lake and the Lower Lakes (now the wetland), and a park keeper's cottage (by the Auckland Road entrance) was built. The overall cost was eventually £2300 (some £3 million in today's money) and included trees, shrubs and plants. Reports in the Courier when the Grosvenor section opened in July 1889 described it as 'a very attractive ground, of picturesque appearance'.

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Marnock was born in March 1800 on a croft near Kintore in Aberdeenshire. In 1825 he was working in the kitchen garden at Bretton Hall, Yorkshire (now Yorkshire Sculpture Park) and became head gardener. He won a competition to design Sheffield Botanical Gardens in 1834 and became curator. In 1839 he moved to London, intending to open a plant nursery, but instead he was commissioned to design the Royal Botanic Society's garden at the Inner Circle of Regent's Park. His curving paths remain in Queen Mary's Rose Garden in the Inner Circle. He was the curator of this garden from 1839 until 1863 and lived with his family in Marylebone. Robert Marnock also designed our very own Dunorlan Park and Alexandra Park in Hastings, as well as many gardens for private clients.

He continued working right until the end of his life and died in 1889, the year Grosvenor Recreation Ground was opened. His obituary described 'a long life, well lived'.

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Mallards are social birds, often found in groups. The colourful males stand out from the brown females, but both have a patch of iridescent blue on their wings. They form pairs during October and November, then the female lays her eggs in spring, protected by the male. After that his role is almost over. The eggs hatch after about 28 days and the ducklings are led to the water. They stay with their mother for 50 - 60 days to learn how to forage, and for warmth and protection at first. Mallards are flexible in their diet of insects, seeds and plant matter.

Moorhens have a dark brown back and wings, with the rest bluish-black. They have white stripes on the flanks and a red bill with a yellow tip and long green legs with very long toes. It's hard to distinguish the slightly larger males from the females. Moorhens are generally monogamous and pair bonds can last for several years. The untidy nest is built on the ground in dense vegetation and both parents incubate the eggs. The fluffy black young stay with their parents for 40 – 50 days and become independent a few weeks later. They eat a wide variety of vegetation, invertebrates and small aquatic creatures. They can sometimes be spotted perched in trees around the lake or on the island.

Black-headed Gulls over-winter in the Park, noticeable in Marnock Lake. They use a wide variety of habitats and are often found inland. Colonial nesting takes place on cliffs, the ground or on buildings. During the summer breeding season, they have a dark brown head, but in winter they have a white head with black spots. Males and females look similar and juveniles have brown markings on the upper part and a black band on the tail. They too have a varied diet of insects, fish, grains, berries and discarded food.

Grey wagtails have a very long, black-and-white tail, a yellow rump and a yellow belly. The upper part is grey with black wings. Males have a grey face with a black throat bib and a white 'moustache'. They nest near water in hollows and crevices lined with moths and twigs and have nested in among the Dripping Wells. Breeding begins in April, with clutches containing 3 - 6 eggs. The incubation period is about 12 days, before the chicks fledge in another 12 days. The diet consists of small insects from the ground, and snails and tadpoles in shallow water.

Grey Herons visit Marnock Lake and the wetlands occasionally. They often stand hunched but are up to 1 m tall when upright. Adults weigh from 1 to 2 kg (2.2 - 4.4 lb). The body and wings are grey above whitish-grey under-parts, with a white head and neck and a black stripe from the eye to the crest. They live in wetland areas including lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the coast. Breeding is in spring, colonially in 'heronries' high in trees. Herons eat mainly fish, but also take amphibians, crustaceans, and small birds and mammals like ducklings and voles.

Kingfishers are occasional winter visitors. They are unmistakable: bright blue and orange, slightly larger and heavier than a sparrow. The sexes are identical in appearance apart from the lower bill: black in the male, orange red with a black tip in the female. They use perches to look for prey in the water, assessing the depth before diving. Their diet is mostly fish, also aquatic insects, freshwater shrimps, tadpoles and newts. They dive with open wings and eyes covered by their transparent third eyelid. Returning to the perch, they repeatedly strike the fish to kill it, before swallowing it headfirst. Each bird must eat at least its own bodyweight a day. A few times a day, they regurgitate small greyish pellet of fishbones and other indigestible remains. They don't sing: their flight call is a short sharp whistle chee, repeated 2-3 times. The alarm call is a harsh shrit-it-it. Courtship begins in February and a nest burrow is dug in the bank of a river, so they don't nest in the Park.