Residents paint mural in historic Railway Village

The mural depicts images evocative of Swindon's history

A huge mural depicting Swindon's industrial heritage has been unveiled on an aging electricity substation.

The artwork, painted by members of the community, is part of ongoing work to rejuvenate GWR Park and the wider Railway Village area.

It was designed by two artists from the charity, Artsite, and incorporates iconic local landmarks and imagery evocative of Swindon's history.

"The mural is a fantastic new addition to GWR Park, while paying respect to Swindon's industrial heritage and diversity," said South Swindon parish councillor Junab Ali.

Local residents were invited to help paint the mural

GWR Park is Swindon's oldest dedicated public park, first used as a cricket pitch in 1844.

Historic England designated the park as a major site in the town's Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) and it has undergone improvements such as formal gardens, park furniture and information boards.

The mural was created to provide some much-needed colour to the western side of the park.

It was crafted by artists, Caryn Koh and Paul Exton, and then local residents were invited to pick up a brush and help "paint by numbers" during the Blossom Festival in April.

The mural features the word 'welcome' in the many languages spoken in the town

The wall facing the Mother Language Memorial features the word 'welcome' in many of the different languages spoken across Swindon.

Local resident, Becky Cox, said: "It was a great idea getting children, and adults, to take part in the mural by 'painting by numbers'.

"My four-year-old very much enjoyed it and it will be lovely to pass the mural when it's complete and say that we helped create it."

The mural was painted on an aging electricity substation as part of ongoing improvement works in GWR Park

The aging substation, owned by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), recently underwent roof repairs in November 2023.

Instead of leaving the building in its plain, unimaginative state, the parish council commissioned Artsite to lead the community painting initiative.

The project is the culmination of two years of improvement works in GWR Park, funded by the National Trust.