'Banksy' mural appears on wall of historic pub in Harrogate district

A new mural signed with the word ‘Banksy’ has appeared on a pub wall in Harrogate, although there is no proof so far that the artwork is by the famed political street artist.

The artwork depicts a gleeful Guy Fawkes throwing Covid passports into the flames of a fire.

The new image appeared on the side of Guy Fawkes Arms pub in Scotton, Harrogate.

The Harrogate Advertiser points out that the mural was skilfully executed and ties into the provocative side of Banksy.

Fawkes, who was born in York but lived in Scotton for a time after his marriage, was the a leading member of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament which was foiled in 1605, almost a century before the free house country pub pub named after him first opened its doors in the village.

Not the first Banksy claim in Harrogate

It's not the first time there have been claims of a Banksy mural in public places in the Harrogate district.

In 2019, a image of a young deer in the style of the world famous, politically-conscious graffiti artist appeared near Bilton in Harrogate during the campaign to block a possible new relief road near Nidd Gorge.

The question of whether it was a Banksy was never convincingly resolved.

In 2015 graffiti in big black letters appeared on a wall at the back of Cheltenham Mount in Harrogate with the words “The game of life goes on in a formless empty space until the participants become weary of it or die.”

It was believed it was the responsibility of a local street artist, rather than Banksy, who use stencils to create his pieces.

In 2014, after much speculation and public chatter, it was revealed that stencil graffiti of a rat in Harrogate town centre on a wall between Kings Road and Back Cheltenham Mount was actually the work of a local artist, not Banksy.

In the case of the mural in Scotton, it's unlikely we will ever find out for sure. Banksy's work can fetch well over £1 million and is known all over the world but he does not always claim his work.