The Lower Grounds were originally the kitchen, private gardens, and fish-ponds belonging to Aston Hall.

The Grounds, under the name of Aston Park, were opened to the public by Queen Victoria on 16 June 1858, marking her first visit to Birmingham.

[5] The clerk of works, Henry Quilter, had already arranged to take over 31 acres of the park area, in the Lower Grounds directly to the north of Aston Park, which soon became the name by which the area was known; the first season tickets for entry to all facilities (including boating and quoit clubs) were 10/6, and 5/- for the grounds only.

[9] Witton station opened adjacent to the grounds, on the London and North Western's Grand Junction Railway line, in 1876.

[10] The aquarium was not a success, and a menagerie replaced it in 1886, which included an aviary, a monkey house, tigers, lions, a leopard, Russian bears, elephants, and kangaroos.

The sale of the cricket ground required a new track - a quarter of a mile around, with banked corners - to be set up in 1889,[21] on the site of the ornamental lake.