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Raphael Park was formed from the western section of the landscaped grounds of the former Gidea Hall Estate. The lake was formed in the late 18th century when what is now known as Black's Bridge on Main Road. The bridge was required to span the widened Black's Canal. The canal was initially formed by damming and redirecting a tributary stream that fed the various water features of the earlier formal gardens of Gidea Hall. Where the canal passed through the estate of Gidea Hall it was widened to form a large serpentine lake. Black's Bridge is now Grade II Listed.