Public art launch and Q&A: 788 Battersea

Part of The Wandsworth Heritage Festival 2024 and organised by St William (Berkeley Group) and Dallas-Pierce-Quintero

This is the official launch of artist David Appleyard’s new public works that celebrate the endeavours of Charles Rolls, the Short Brothers, and their connection to the railway arches at Prince of Wales Drive.

In the early 1900s, the Short Brothers developed ‘lighter than air’ balloons and ‘heavier than air’ aeroplanes in arches 71 and 85 which sit underneath the railway line that runs through Battersea to the north of Battersea Park Station and Prince of Wales Drive.

A former gasworks, the site supplied gas to innovative aeronautical engineers the Short Brothers, who crafted their balloons in the adjacent railway arches. These balloons were chartered to make flights across Britain, or further afield to France and Belgium.

David Appleyard was commissioned by developer St. William to develop a series of outdoor artworks for a public walkway on the nearby Prince of Wales Drive. His artwork takes its inspiration from the pioneering history of early aviation in the area and will be officially unveiled at the Wandsworth Heritage Festival.

You can see one artwork, ‘Rolls Bird’ – a nod to Charles Rolls, the Short Brothers’ friend and patron – in this Instagram post – and a video of David talking about this ideas and inspiration below.

RSVP to susie@d-p-q.uk. Meet at public walkway alongside railway arches.