Shaftesbury Park is laid out on the site of a former rifle range and covers an area of 16 acres along the western edge of the River Usk. Originally laid out as part of the housing development on the Marshes Estate in 1900, the park was subsequently developed in the course of the Edwardian and inter-war periods. The large pond present on the site was constructed in 1906 by unemployed labour and the bowling green and bandstand were completed before the outbreak of the First World War. A urinal at the southern edge of the park was replaced by a drinking fountain at the same time. The bowling green remained in use until the 1990s when it was removed; the bandstand was dismantled at the time of the Second World War. The site now consists of playing fields and open space with no dedicated sporting facilities.
Shaftesbury Park hosted Buffalo Bill on his tour of Britain on 16 July 1903.

Daryl Leeworthy, RCAHMW, 18 March 2011.