Public art unveiled at Warminster site

Two major new outdoor artworks by an acclaimed British artist have arrived at Persimmon’s site in Warminster, marking a significant addition to the town’s cultural and environmental landscape.

Titled Teumessian Fox and Laelaps, the large-scale sculptures from Simon Periton are installed at the eastern and western entrances of Jubilee Gardens, forming a pair of works that connect landscape, community, ecology, and the cosmos, inspired by the Wiltshire town’s expansive skies and surrounding landmarks.

Together, the two sculptures are conceived as a unified artistic gesture, bookending the site while inviting people to navigate between them. Their alignment mirrors celestial patterns, creating a dialogue between land and sky, past and present, science and myth.

The artworks were funded via Persimmon's S106 financial contributions to the community. A public event will be held this Summer to welcome the new sculptures to the area.

Jubilee Gardens will see 1,000 much-needed, new homes built for local people in Warminster, 300 of which will be reserved for a housing association. The completed scheme will include sports pitches and changing rooms, public green space, a linear park, land for a primary school, and millions of pounds in community investment from Persimmon.

The development has two, three, and four bed homes for sale from £259,995, while Persimmon’s sister company, Charles Church, has four-bed homes for sale from £449,995 at its outlet. This project was funded by a developer's contribution which was agreed with Wiltshire Council as part of the planning application process. The Agreement states that the contribution shall be spent on a public art strategy at Jubilee Gardens.

Periton said: “I watched the summer solstice sunset from the top of Cley Hill with the Strawberry full moon rising behind me. Subsequently, I met with astronomer Steve Tonkin, Dark Skies Advisor to the International Dark Sky Reserve at Cranborne Chase. We explored the Jubilee Gardens site, taking coordinates using his alignment app, and carried out preliminary modelling to identify any significant celestial relationships.”

“The alignment between the works encourages visitors to move through the landscape, echoing the celestial alignments that occur in the night sky. The works are rooted in the ecology, geology, and history of this place.”

Teumessian Fox, located at the entrance Victoria Road entrance, takes the form of a monumental carved oak-leaf sculpture in granite, around four metres tall. Featuring two circular apertures, the work is carefully aligned so that people approaching from the east can view Cley Hill and potentially the setting of the star Procyon, through the openings. The piece references ancient megaliths and stone circles, anchoring the work in deep geological and cultural time.

Laelaps, located at the entrance from Bath Road, is a complementary sculpture that echoes the oak leaf motif in knapped flint and pebble, referencing the local chalk and flint landscape. Like its counterpart, it incorporates “eye” openings that frame views across the landscape, visually connecting to the eastern sculpture and encouraging movement and exploration.