Pet Shop Mural
Pet Shop Mural
Continuing to reveal the hidden stories of Chatham through public art, this week we saw our fifth mural painted.
Luxembourg artist Alain Welter visited Medway for the first time to paint his light-hearted take on The Pet Shop story.
From 1953 until 1961, 417-419 High Street by Luton Arches was home to a pet shop, aptly named ‘The Pet Shop’. Before a change of ownership, the previous shop owner had a pet Humboldt woolly monkey inside, climbing and jumping across the store.
Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, the shop owner, together with his wife, son and daughter, sailed from Chatham to the River Amazon on their sailing craft in search of more Humboldt monkeys, which he planned to sell to zoos for a handsome price. But in late 1961 there was still no information about their whereabouts, and to this day it remains unknown how their voyage fared.
Located on Henry Street, this mural wouldn’t have been possible without the support of mhs homes, the UK’s largest independent landlord, and their tenant who kindly donated the wall.
If you have a wall or local story you’d like to have considered for future murals, please get in touch!
Relocation of Driver Fountain
Relocation of Driver Fountain
Arches Local is delighted to bring a remarkable piece of Chatham’s heritage back to its rightful home in Luton on its 125th anniversary.
The fountain was originally installed at the Luton Arches in October 1899, donated by three-time mayor William Dawes Driver to celebrate the life of his late father, Joshua Driver – a successful merchant, local politician and helper of those in need.
Made of Peterhead red and Aberdeen blue granite, the fountain was designed not just to serve the townspeople but also their horses, featuring drinking basins and a trough. However, in 1961 the fountain was relocated to a forgotten corner of Chatham Cemetery due to plans to build a taxi rank in its place, which never came to fruition. Meanwhile, the trough was disposed of despite various claims otherwise.
The fountain’s return to Luton has been no simple feat, beginning over a decade ago with a simple news article to try and prompt action, but to no avail. Despite several false starts, this year Arches Local decided to make one final effort and approached the project with a fresh perspective. We commissioned Taylor Pearce, royal warrant-holding stonemasons, and Meristem Design, expert landscape designers, to bring this project to life.
Various relocation sites were considered, including its original location by the roundabout and a site by the pedestrian crossing on Chatham Hill, which was favoured by Medway Council during their relocation attempt some years ago. However, all options aside from the final chosen site proved unfeasible due to the extensive engineering works and implausible road closures necessary for safe reassembly.
During our disassembly we discovered that all of its plumbing was already removed and the cavities were backfilled with concrete. As a result, replumbing is no longer possible, even if we had wished to do so.
Through the fountain’s return to its rightful place, the legacy of both Joshua and William Driver will continue to be a part of Chatham’s story for generations to come. Relocating the historic Driver Fountain on its 125th anniversary is yet another step in our ongoing commitment to repairing Chatham’s urban landscape. We believe that our shared spaces should be places where nature thrives, culture is celebrated, and communities come together.
Photos: Jane Robb
Meristem Design Partnership
Meristem Design Partnership
We were pleased to welcome award-winning landscapers Meristem Design to transform our planted areas in Luton Road this week.
They were also joined by pupils of Luton Primary School who helped to bring this project to life.
Our community chose vibrant and road-tolerant species to provide seasonal colour and joy every year, while boosting biodiversity.
The new landscaping complements the nine trees we planted in Luton Road in recent years, building on our legacy of work to green the grey in Chatham.
This marks the start of an ongoing partnership with Meristem Design, through which we hope to work with them again on the Driver Fountain relocation and Phase 2 of the Luton Road casualty reduction scheme.
Chatham Elephant Mural
Chatham Elephant Mural
Continuing to reveal the hidden stories of Chatham through public art, this week we saw our fourth mural painted.
Acclaimed artist Curtis Hylton was commissioned by Arches Local to respond to a list of local stories, and took inspiration from the story of the ‘Chatham Elephant’.
In 1913, Sydney Turner, a Luton resident, made a remarkable discovery in Upnor: the bones of the Chatham Elephant. These belonged to a straight-tusked elephant, an ancient species dating back approximately 400,000 years, with a height of nearly 4 metres and weighing around 10 tonnes. Excavations took place in 1915, revealing what is considered to be the largest elephant species ever found in Britain. Today, London’s Natural History Museum is home to Turner’s extraordinary findings.
Located on Newnham Street, this mural wouldn’t have been possible without the support of mhs homes, the UK’s largest independent landlord, who kindly donated their wall.
If you have a wall or local story you’d like to have considered for future murals, please get in touch!
Anne Pratt Mural
Anne Pratt Mural
Continuing to reveal the hidden stories of Chatham, this week we achieved a hat-trick with our third mural painted.
Renowned artist Sophie Mess was commissioned by Arches Local to respond to a list of local stories, and took inspiration from the incredible life of Anne Pratt (1806-1893).
Living with her sister off Luton Road for some years, Anne found solace in drawing due to poor health and an injured knee.
Little did she know, her passion would elevate her to become one of the best-known botanical illustrators of the Victorian age. Publishing more than 20 books, Queen Victoria herself requested copies of her works.
Inspired by Anne’s bold life choices, and in Sophie Mess’ contemporary style, she contrasts the word ‘imagine’ with the flowers Anne would have painted.
Located on Newnham Street, this mural wouldn’t have been possible without the support of mhs homes, the UK’s largest independent landlord, who kindly donated their wall.
If you have a wall or local story you’d like to have considered for future murals, please get in touch!
Asquith Mural
Asquith Xavier Mural
Building on our work to celebrate the hidden stories of this corner of Chatham, our latest mural has been painted on Hare Street.
Arches Local commissioned renowned artist Voyder to respond to a list of local stories and, as can be seen, he chose the extraordinary story of Asquith Xavier.
Asquith played an important role in the campaign for racial equality in the workplace.
He was born in Dominica and moved to England in 1958 as part of the Windrush generation, invited from the Caribbean to help rebuild post-war Britain.
He joined British Railways as a guard at London’s Marylebone station in 1966. With the closure of the Marylebone main line, Asquith applied for a transfer to Euston station but was rejected due to a ‘whites-only’ recruitment policy, which excluded black people from customer-facing roles.
Asquith fought this decision and eventually became the first non-white guard at Euston station, marking a pivotal moment for this country.
His strength and determination also influenced changes to the law, which made the refusal of housing, employment or public services to people based on their ethnic background illegal.
Asquith lived on Grove Road from 1972 to 1980 when he sadly passed away.
If you have a wall or a local story you’d like to be considered for future murals, please get in touch!