The deer park has been in the ownership of the Knatchbull family since 1486. When Mersham-le-Hatch (the Mansion House that lies to the south of the deer park) was completed in 1765 the deer park formed part of the parkland landscape designed to augment the views from the house.
The deer park was first enclosed to hold deer in 1618 by a grant from James I. Originally the park extended beyond its current southern boundary right up to the Mansion House. During the Second World War the land between the deer park and the Mansion House was ploughed up as part of the “dig for victory” campaign. In 2006 with the aid of funding from DEFRA and the Rail Link Countryside Initiative the process of returning this area of arable land to pasture and incorporating it into the deer park again was commenced – and in the early part of 2009 deer were reintroduced. The deer grazing in the park today are directly descended from the original deer herd of the 17th century.
In 1987 the deer park (together with two adjoining areas of woodland) was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest principally because of the uniqueness of the acid grassland on the site and the diverse range of insect life that it supports. The areas of woodland adjacent to the deer park consist of ancient pollarded hornbeam.