Construction of the reservoir was completed in 1868, and the spoil of the excavation was used to build up other areas of the park. The nearby boating lake is man made, having been created in the grounds of Hornsey Wood Tavern in 1826.
The resevoir was built to hold the capacity of some 5,000,000 gallons, it was used up until the early 21st Century.
Originally built by East London Waterworks Company in 1868 to provide water to residents of East London.
Although disused, the reservoir has been used for filming in recent years such as Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes in 2009 and Paddington in 2014.
