Cheyne Open Space is one of the few remaining semi-wooded spaces in the area that used to be part of Enfield Old Park. The Park was situated around the site of an Iron Age hill fort, the remains of which can still be seen in the vicinity of the building of Old Park House. The Park was recorded at least as far back as the Domesday Book in 1086 which recorded the Manor of Enfield as being held by Geoffrey de Mandeville and mentions 'there is a park there' meaning an area reserved for hunting game. Salmons Brook, which still runs through Cheyne Open Space today, is a notable feature on that map.
Queen Elizabeth I frequently visited Enfield for hunting and stayed sometimes at the nearby 'Enfield Palace', which stood at the edge of the Park
By the early 17th century the course of the New River was laid through part of the Park and contemporary accounts state that the Park's stock was at least 200 fallow deer.
The two nearby golf clubs have had leases in the area since at least 1895.
The Park is still remembered in several road names, notably Old Park Ridings, Old Park Road and Old Park Avenue.