Press Release 2026

A Golden Glimpse into Petworth’s Past: Local Artist Transforms Disused Telephone Box into Miniature Gallery.

A disused telephone box outside the Co-op in Petworth has been given a remarkable new lease of life, transformed into a miniature gallery celebrating the town’s history through a collection of historical photographs, each hand-gilded in gold leaf by local artist Kerry-Lynne Skilleter.​Commissioned by Petworth Town Council, the project aimed at making a feature of the recently adopted telephone box by using local photographs to add interest for visitors.​“I decided the photographs deserved more than just being displayed inside the glass panels. Having worked with gold leaf and developed my own niche style, I knew its incredible lustre could transform the photographs and make the phone box really pop.”​Kerry-Lynne worked with volunteers from Coultershaw Beam Pump, including Graham Whittington, Tony Sneller and Miles Costello, who introduced her to their extensive archive of historical photographs. Many of the images were taken by local photographers George Garland and Walter Kevis, providing a fascinating visual record of Petworth and the surrounding area.​Selecting the final photographs was both challenging and rewarding, with each image needing to work within the precise dimensions of the phone box while also creating a cohesive portrait of Petworth's past​“During the selection process, I became fascinated by the stories Graham told about each photograph. I fell totally in love with the process.”​Each chosen photograph was then painstakingly hand-gilded in gold leaf before being installed behind the phone box’s glass panels. The gold catches and reflects the changing natural light throughout the day, giving the installation a constantly shifting appearance.​The result is part public artwork, part historical archive and part unexpected exhibition space — bringing Petworth’s past directly into the everyday life of the community.​Cllr Singleton – Chair of Petworth Town Council commented that the Town Council is delighted with the finished product that has given the telephone box in Market Square a new lease of life.