Three Banksy-style murals have mysteriously appeared in North Wales over the past 24 hours. High quality mono artworks of a cow, a knight and an owl have been freshly painted in Denbighshire and Flintshire.
First to appear was a dairy cow on the former Tafarn Derwen pub in Mold town centre. An owl was also reported in a bus shelter in Trefnant. These were followed last night by a mural of a knight on horseback in a car park in Ruthin.
Already there have been calls for the respective local authorities to step in and preserve the eye-catching murals. Since Mold’s artwork appeared, locals have been taking photos of themselves “milking” the town’s newly painted cow.
Ruthin’s mural appeared overnight in the council-run Crispin’s Yard car park near Cae Ddol Park. It depicts a knight on horseback wielding a sword, a possible reference to rebellion leader Owain Glyndŵr, a Denbighshire landowner who looted English-controlled Ruthin in 1400. Seeing a photo on social media, one man said it was an “absolutely stunning and superb piece of art”. He added: “Owain Glyndŵr rises again, as he always said he would.”
Coming across the mural this morning (Wednesday, January 15) was Ruthin resident Jenny Plumb. “My daughter spotted it through the car window at 8.30am,” she said. “It’s exciting to think it may be a Banksy. But even if it’s not it’s a nice piece of artwork and I’d like to think efforts will be made to protect it.
“I used to live in Reading where a Banksy mural appeared on the prison. Nothing was done to protect it and it was soon defaced by grafitti.” Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community
This was Banksy’s “Create Escape” mural, designed in 2021 and interpretated as Oscar Wilde escaping from Reading Gaol with his typewriter. Within two weeks, it had been defaced with red paint, apparently by supporters of a rival graffiti artist. As the Ruthin artwork is on a private building being turned into a US-style diner, Denbighshire Council has said it can’t intervene.
Mold’s dairy cow appears to munch nearby grass
Ruthin’s knight is from the same period Owain Glyndŵr but is differs from most previous artistic impressions of the rebellion leader
(Image: Jenny Plumb)
Banksy remains anonymous and is famed for work largely done with spray paint. None of his work is signed, adding to the mystery of his street art, which can command hefty prices if pieces are extracted from walls.
Last summer Banksy unveiled his “Beastly London” series with depictions of monkeys, wolves, pelicans, goats, cats and elephants. This recent preference for animals has given substance to claims that the murals in Mold and Trefnant might be by him.
Some residents have speculated their new cow mural is a reference to Mold’s town centre livestock market. This was first spotted on Tuesday morning and it depicts a cow apparently munching grass from a grass verge alongside the semi-derelict Tafarn Derwen Inn on Wrexham road. “Whoever did that is very talented,” said one local. “Keep ‘em coming!”
A third mural has been reported in the village of Trefnant, between Denbigh and St Asaph. Found in a bus stop shelter on Tuesday morning, this is said to show an owl.
Last year, a spray-painted pigeon, rabbit and pair of ants appeared on buildings and inside a tunnel in Denbigh. Again, Banksy was suspected, though the style of work differed from that of the world-famous artist.
Ultimately, these works were claimed by graffiti artist Artist DNZ, originally from North Wales but now based in London. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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