As part of the Our Year 2024 Crossings and Gateways Programme, artist Tony Wade created new murals for Savile Park in Whitwood, Castleford.

The mural designs were developed through consultations with park users, and through silk painting workshops with the local community and schools, including: Ackton Pastures Primary Academy, Castleford Cricket Club, 5th Castleford Guides and Rangers, Castleford Library Art Group, Friends of Savile Park, Half Acres Primary Academy, Savile Park Bowling Club, Savvy Park Runrz and Three Lane Ends Primary School.

The murals consist of 18 4ft x 8ft panoramic panels along the wall on the boundary of the park, creating a visual journey for the viewer to follow. 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: Ackton Pastures Primary Academy, Castleford and Normanton District Hospital, Castleford Cricket Club Pavilion, Castleford Panthers Rugby League Club, Castleford Rugby Union Club, Half Acres Primary Academy, John Skeaping mural at The Grange School, Savile Park Bowling Club, Three Lane Ends Academy, Whitwood Colliery, Whitwood Mining and Technical College, Whitwood Terrace. Other local landmarks can be seen in the landscapes in the distance.

This project was funded by Councillors Hepworth, Pritchard, and Speight through the Wakefield Council Community Grants Programme.

Click the button below to see Tony’s website and explore all of the mural panels and learn more about the places featured.