 In the early 1840s Thomas Cubitt and James Pennethorne had proposed a plan to use 150 @,@ 000 tons of rocks and earth from the excavation of the Royal Victoria Dock to infill the marshy Battersea Fields and create a large public park to serve the growing population of Chelsea . In 1846 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests purchased the Red House Inn and 200 acres ( 0 @.@ 81 km2 ) of surrounding land , and work began on the development that would become Battersea Park . It was expected that with the opening of the park the volume of cross river traffic would increase significantly , putting further strain on the dilapidated Battersea Bridge . 
