Some of the murals, many of which were painted by local artists, can be found inside local businesses while others help decorate the outside walls of buildings in town. We have found several of them and featured them a photo gallery on this page.
If you know of any more murals in town please let us know at the Banbury Guardian here: [email protected].
The Banbury Cross pub has several murals inside its Butcher's Row location. Local artist Steve 'Digger' Gardner did all five of the murals at the pub, and the oldest dates back to 1999.
Many of their murals are music themed, and of them found on the wall next to the main bar, and shows several famous musicians from Bob Marley, to James Brown, to Michael Jackson and Elvis along with the Dave and Gail Gilkes, the landlords of the pub. Another one of their murals is a large period era mural of the Banbury town centre up against a wall in the back garden of the pub.
Gail said: "The murals are a good talking point. People like guess who the characters are in them."
The pub regularly holds music themed nights. It's next is event is a Karaoke Night tomorrow night, Friday March 25, and then a Soul and Motown Night from 8pm on Saturday (March 26) with DJ's - Gilko, Steve Milsom and Charlie Mac.
For more information on the Banbury Cross Pub and music theme nights see its Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/thebanburycrosspub/posts/4911149418938253
Steve 'Digger' Gardner painted another mural on the wall of the alley way next to The Old Auctioneer pub in Parson's Street.
Rock the Atic late night bar, also located in Butcher's Row of the town centre, has several murals. Two of them are Banksy tribute murals. One of the Banksy tributes was done as part of their opening in 2015, which is a replica mural showing a woman cleaning and sweeping something under a curtain only to find a brick wall. That particular mural drew the attention of national media after it led people to believe the real Banksy artist had paid a visit to Banbury.
Rock the Atic also has a faces of Joker mural inside the business. The Jokers mural and another large mural covering an entire wall inside the bar were done by local Banbury artist Lucy Barnes known as @santafroggyart. Several other murals at the bar, including the Banksy replicas were painted by a graffiti street artist from Northamptonshire, who is a friend of the atic's owner, Ryan Mold. The murals at Rock the Atic mostly have either a comedy or musical theme.
Ryan said: "It's something to grab people's attention for the venue."
Rock the Atic serves as a local comedy club, and has an event this weekend on Sunday March 27 when Slim Comedian, known as the King of Black British comedy, will take the stage. Slim has performed on Live at the Apollo and The Russell Howard Hour. Book your tickets here: https://www.rocktheatic.com/product/27th-stand-up-comedy-slim-live-at-the-apollo/
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Gail and Dave Gilkes, who run the Banbury Cross pub in Butche'rs Row of the town centre, stand next to a large mural in the pub's garden done by local artist, Steve 'Digger' Gardner
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A Banksy tribute and replica on the outside wall of Rock the Atic, a late night bar in the town centre of Banbury
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Large mural of an owl in the back garden of Rock the Atic, a late night bar in Butcher's Row of the Banbury town centre
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Street art found on a door facing the market place in the Banbury town centre showing Jack Nicholson's character from The Shining film