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The eye-catching mural on a railway bridge outside Three Bridges station
The eye-catching mural on a railway bridge outside Three Bridges station

Press release -

Three Bridges railway bridge has ‘wow factor’ thanks to art project

A collaboration between a street artist and schoolchildren has led to a brightly coloured mural adorning a railway bridge outside Three Bridges station.

Pupils from Three Bridges Primary School, Pound Hill Junior School, Maidenbower Junior School and Milton Mount School created artwork on the theme of train travel after the project was put forward by local councillors. Street artist Lionel Stanhope then took all the pictures to create a composite mural and painted it during the summer.

Along with the existing artwork from Oriel High School currently on display in the underpass at the station, Three Bridges Railway Station is now brighter place to visit.

Teacher Emma Collins, of Milton Mount School, said: “I ran a workshop for our gifted artists for this project. The children absolutely loved it and I feel really proud of them. I know that in years to come they will look at the mural and think ‘I was part of that!’. For some of our pupils, it is a massive confidence boost to see their work up on display for everyone to admire. I hope that more projects like this are organised in the future.”

Elaine Jenkins, headteacher at Maidenbower, said: "The children of Maidenbower Junior School were thrilled to take part in the recent art installation. They enthusiastically researched and sketched their design ideas based around the theme of transport, creating some beautifully innovative scenes. We looked at the previous work of Lionel Stanhope, visited the station to get a feel for the area, and created bright, bold, eye-catching mural ideas."

Elaine added: "The children were truly inspired by the idea of being a part of an art installation that they would be able to show off to their friends and family for years and years to come. Thank you for including us in this exciting experience, and we certainly think it has had a positive impact on the area!"

Trudy Emberson, headteacher at Three Bridges Primary School, said: "I am delighted that Three Bridges Primary School was given the opportunity to take part in the railway bridge project. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the railway theme and I think they have created a very striking and powerful image. We are all very proud of the children's excellent work. Special thanks to our art leader, Mrs Gardener, who inspired the children and staff with this project."

Community Rail Development Manager Fiona Morton said: “This beautiful mural is the result of lots of talented people working together to improve the environment around a key community asset, Three Bridges Station. Rowena Tyler, Sussex Community Rail Partnership Line Officer, was able to bring together the talents of five local primary schools, an artist, local councillors, the Station Manager and Network Rail to bring the wow factor to Three Bridges.”

Crawley Borough Councillor Brenda Burgess thanked the Network Rail Community Rail Officer, Southern’s Station Manager, the Sussex CRP Arun Line Officer for all the support on this project - and of course, the pupils and staff from the five schools.

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