Gyp and the Tram Mural
This spring we completed our twelfth mural in Luton, marking the final installation delivered through the Big Local programme.
London artist WOSKerski was invited back after his creative take on the story of Cabbage Island in November 2023, which kick-started our public art trail across the area.
His latest piece highlights a little-known story linked to Chatham’s trams, a popular mode of transport between 1902 and 1930. Former resident Win Rolfe recalled that his mother’s inquisitive fox terrier, Gyp, often escaped her home in Edinburgh Road and boarded the trams, making journeys to the Dockyard and back sat by the driver.
The tram depot stood in Luton Road and is now the Tramways housing estate, opposite the mural. Services ran frequently between Luton and the Dockyard from 5am to midnight, costing one penny.
Once again, this mural was made possible thanks to landlord mhs homes and their tenants, who kindly donated the wall.
Over three years we welcomed talented artists from across the UK and Europe to celebrate Chatham’s untold history, from the fascinating story of the Chatham Elephant to the remarkable achievements of Asquith Xavier and Erica Stuart. With the Big Local programme now behind us, we are exploring future opportunities to continue to bring high quality public art to our community.
Phase 2 Luton Road
We’ve reached an important milestone with the completion of Phase 2 on Luton Road, marking a key step in Medway’s most ambitious, resident–led urban greening programmes.
Luton Road is a densely populated street that has long experienced high levels of pollution, an uninspiring public realm, and very limited access to greenery. Due to its history as a tram route, the street had never been tree-lined.
As part of Phase 2, a further 12 street trees were planted over the winter, alongside more than 50m² of new soft landscaping. This brings the total on Luton Road to 20 street trees and over 70m² of soft landscaping planted since 2022, bringing nature directly to the doorstep of hundreds.
This work forms part of a wider, ambitious programme that has already delivered over 70 street trees across the area, demonstrating what can be achieved when local people are empowered to lead change in their neighbourhoods.
While Phase 2 marks a significant achievement, our commitment to Luton Road continues. There is still more to do, with ongoing maintenance and further improvements planned.
We run regular weekend community gardening days to help embed long-term care and local ownership of the space. If you’re local and would like to get involved in future sessions, please get in touch.
Man Orchid Mural
Over the past year we expanded our mural programme to the Shipwrights housing estate, bringing high quality public art to this corner of Chatham.
Here we delivered our final mural of 2025, celebrating another local story.
French artist Mister Tris creatively interpreted one of Britain’s endangered plants, the Man Orchid.
The unusual name comes from its distinct appearance of tiny ‘green men’, with the petals forming the head, and the lobes of the labellum resembling a dangling torso and limbs.
Now considered a very rare plant, Chatham’s Daisy Banks is one of the few locations where it can be seen growing in the wild, with sightings also reported in Cambridge and Oxford.
Through his vibrant style Mister Tris depicts a scene of children discovering the Man Orchid in its natural habitat, with a florilegium in hand to help their search.
Located off Sailmakers Court, this mural was made possible thanks to landlord mhs homes and their tenant, who kindly donated the wall.
As we look ahead to 2026, get in touch if you have a wall or local story you would like us to consider by emailing info@archeslocal.org.uk.
Summer Adventures
Local children have played an important role throughout our Big Local journey, so as the programme formally came to an end, we marked it by delivering a summer of activities as a thank you.
Over several weeks during summer 2025, children and families took part in a wide range of activities. These included a summer BBQ, Thorpe Park, pool party at Cozenton Park, and a climbing session in Maidstone.
The summer programme concluded with a no-expense-spared, three-day residential trip to Carroty Wood. During the stay, children took part in raft building, canoeing, abseiling, geocaching and a talent show.
While children’s activities finish with the Big Local programme, the relationships formed and the memories created over the summer will last well beyond it.
William Mason Mural
September has been a busy month for our public art programme, with our ninth mural now completed.
Brazil-born, UK-based artist Liam Bononi interpreted the story of Luton resident and Shorts Brothers employee, William Mason.
William dreamt of building and flying his own aircraft, and one day his dream came close to reality.
Living in Magpie Hall Road, a fully built aeroplane crafted by him and his family stood in their back garden in September 1939. With a pilot’s licence in hand and collapsible wings designed so it could be towed, William had planned every possible detail.
But on the day of its test flight the Second World War broke out, grounding all private aircraft. Although William waited patiently for peace, hoping at last to take to the skies, post-war restrictions meant he never flew his plane, named the Luton Minor.
Through his artwork Liam creatively explores William’s mix of passion and excitement when creating his plane, and the disappointment when it cannot fly.
Located in Joiners Court, this mural was made possible thanks to landlord mhs homes and their tenant, who kindly donated the wall.
If you have a wall or a local story you would like us to consider for future murals, please get in touch.
May Adventures
May was a busy month for our adventure programmes.
A group of 30 children from local primary schools took on 25 challenge rooms and a round of adventure golf in Prison Island Maidstone.
Meanwhile, our adult group hit bullseyes at Fort Luton’s axe throwing range and got competitive in a game of bowling at Chatham Bowl.
We’re gearing up for our jam-packed summer of adventures, which will include a three-day residential trip set in the picturesque woodland of Kent.
Spring Clean
As part of this year’s Great British Spring Clean we spent a sunny morning in Luton Road with a spot of gardening.
Joined by friends and neighbours we tidied our roadside planters and prepared our flower baskets for a summer display.
It was a fantastic opportunity for local people to get to know each other, some of whom had not previously met, and we hope to repeat the community gardening day later this year.
Our continued efforts to green the grey in Chatham builds on the nine trees we planted in Luton Road, with a further 12 trees and soft landscaping planned through the second phase of Medway Council’s road casualty reduction scheme.