In 2025, I was commissioned by Wakefield Council to create a mural for the wall on the boundary of Savile Park in Whitwood, Castleford.
Long, low walls are challenging sites for murals as it’s hard to create a piece that can be viewed as a whole. The design solution I came up with was to create a number of panoramic triptyches that would run along the length of the wall, creating a visual journey for the viewer to follow.
The finished piece consists of 18 4ft x 8ft panels that form 6 triptychs along the wall on the boundary of the park. The murals celebrate the sporting and leisure activities that take place in the park, plants and butterflies that can be seen there, buildings and places nearby (past and present), and the wide open spaces that characterise Whitwood.
The flowers represent the mass planting of daffodils and tulips in the park by the Woodland Trust, Wakefield Council and local people.
Buildings and places represented in the murals include the following;
Whitwood Mining and Technical College, Whitwood Colliery, Castleford and Normanton District Hospital, the John Skeaping mural at The Grange School, Castleford Rugby Union Club, Castleford Cricket Club Pavilion, Castleford Panthers Rugby League Club, Whitwood Terrace, Three Lane Ends Academy, Half Acres Primary Academy, Ackton Pastures Primary Academy and Savile Park Bowling Club. Other local landmarks can be seen in the landscapes in the distance.
The piece was created through consultations with park users, including Savile Park Bowling Club, Castleford Cricket Club, Friends of Savile Park and Savvy Park Runrz. The panels were painted on silk at community and school workshops, including Castleford Library Art Group, 5th Castleford Guides and Rangers, Three Lane Ends Primary School, Half Acres Primary Academy and Ackton Pastures Primary Academy.
This project was part of the Crossings and Gateways programme for Our Year 2024 and was funded by Wakefield Council.
If you click on the images below it will tell you a bit about each painting and who painted it.
Tony Wade 