In the twenties, it was a yard where the Dustmen left the refuse collected, for disposal. In 1923/4 a tall chimney was built on the site to incinerate burnable rubbish. We called it a "Dusst destructor".I recall the chimney being built as from my home in Burghill Road, we watched men working on the structure. We called it the "Big Chimney". The site was on, or near to what we knew as the Brickfield, and the schools held their annual sports days there.
As a matter of interest, the area to the south of Southend Lane and bordering the river Pool, was used as a landfill site where the remainder of the refuse was buried. It became a playground for local kids although it was rat infested. As kids, we used to have boat races with sticks along the river.