Mermaid mural to replace Fighting Temeraire
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 14
For years a mural of Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire adorned the sea wall at Minster on the Isle of Sheppey.
But now it is being replaced by mermaids, an octopus, an RNLI lifeboat, the bomb ship SS Richard Montgomery’s masts (before they are taken down), Sheppey wildlife and the local legend of Grey Dolphin.
The transformation is being undertaken by artist Julie Bradshaw and her daughter Anna Piles under the watchful eye of Minster on Sea Parish Council.
Parish councillor John Nurden said: “The Fighting Temeraire was a blaze of colour at the beginning of The Leas when it was first painted by Sheppey artist Richard Jeferies five years ago. But over time it faded and had become difficult to pick out.”
So, the council has commissioned the mother and daughter team to create a completely new mural.
Cllr Nurden said: “Although the heritage of the Island is very important to us, we wanted to remind visitors that this is still very much a seaside destination. Our award-winning beach and promenade are popular with everyone.”
The two women began the mural on Monday by applying a base coat of white paint. They are hoping to finish the painting by the end of the week.
Julie said: “We are making it look as if someone has broken through the seawall so you can see the beach and the sea in the distance.
“We are featuring Sheppey wildlife like cormorants, seaweed, shells and fossils and adding the historic Second World War Maunsell Sea forts you can see on the horizon. There will also be the distinctive red-sailed Thames barges and a treasure chest with a statue of Sir Robert de Shurland and his horse Grey Dolphin.”
“We are including the lifeboat crew because they work so hard, as well as a mermaid, an octopus and children playing in the sand.”
The paint has been donated by Dulux which also provided materials for another mural the pair painted for the parish council on the approach to the Abbey Gatehouse museum.
The 98-gun Fighting Temeraire, which had played a major role in the Battle of Trafalgar, was towed to her final berth from Sheerness to Rotherhithe by a steam tug in 1838 where she was broken up for scrap.
The event was captured in oils by English artist JMW Turner. The painting, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy the following year, now hangs in the National Gallery having been bequeathed to the nation by the artist in 1851.
In 2004 a BBC Radio 4 poll voted it the nation’s favourite painting. In 2020 it was included on the new £20 banknote along with the artist's 1799 self-portrait.
According to the Ingoldsby Legends, Sir Robert de Shurland, who owned land on Sheppey, slew a monk and then used his horse Grey Dolphin to swim out to the King’s ship moored off the Island to seek forgiveness.
On his return to the shore, an old hag told him the horse would be the death of him. So he cut off the horse’s head. A year later he was strolling along the same stretch of beach when he stubbed his foot on his horse’s skull. The wound became infected and Sir Robert died a few days later. His tomb, in Minster Abbey, includes a sculpture of his horse’s head.
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