Banksy in Shoreditch: Rivington Street and the lost pieces

There are two Banksys left in Shoreditch that you can reasonably go and look at, and both are in the same place: the courtyard of the old Cargo club at 83 Rivington Street, EC2A. Guard Dog and His Master’s Voice have been there for more than two decades, behind perspex. Everything else Banksy painted in the area has been painted over, jet-washed or taken away. Here is what survives, what has gone, and how to see it.

Guard Dog and His Master’s Voice, Rivington Street

Banksy’s Graffiti Area, usually called Guard Dog, dates from 2003. It shows a uniformed guard with a poodle on a lead, next to a stencilled sign announcing that the wall is a designated graffiti area: a joke at the expense of the people paid to stop graffiti. It was unauthorised, and at some point the wall was covered in perspex to protect it from removal and from other painters. Photographs show it in place by 2004, and the 2026 Street Artwork guide still lists it on Rivington Street.

Alongside it is His Master’s Voice, the old record-label dog, also under perspex. Inspiring City dates both murals to around 2001, when Banksy was first painting in Shoreditch.

Can you get in?

This is the catch. Cargo, the club that occupied the arches, has gone: its old web address now redirects to 83 Rivington Street, an event space in three railway arches with a garden terrace and a mural wall, hired out for brand launches, exhibitions and parties. Its own site shows the Banksy stencil in the courtyard, but it is a private venue rather than a public yard. Some days you will see the pieces from the gate, some days not. If it matters, go on a street art tour; the guides know when the gate is open.

Lost: Pulp Fiction, Old Street, 2002 to 2007

The most famous Shoreditch Banksy is the one that is not there. Pulp Fiction was painted in 2002 on a wall near Old Street station, with the film’s characters holding bananas instead of guns. In April 2007 Transport for London workmen painted over it. At the time it was valued at more than £300,000.

Lost: the Brick Lane monkeys, August to December 2024

In August 2024 Banksy painted a run of animals across London, nine works that summer. On 7 August three monkeys appeared, on the railway bridge over Brick Lane. In early December, City AM reported workers pressure-washing them off overnight. TfL said unauthorised art attracts more graffiti and anti-social behaviour near a live railway. Shoreditch Street Art Tours pointed out that the other tags on the same bridge were left alone.

Behind closed doors: the Truman Brewery

Inside the Old Truman Brewery off Brick Lane, Elys Yard has had work by Banksy alongside Vhils and Shepard Fairey, according to Inspiring City’s Brick Lane guide. It is private land and access varies, so treat it as a bonus rather than a destination.

On the same street: what to see while you are there

Rivington Street rewards the trip even if the gate is shut. Under the railway bridge are Ben Eine’s giant SCARY letters, and along the street Where Goes Rose recorded Thierry Noir’s faces and a rain-themed mural by Dan Kitchener. Ten minutes east, the long-running pieces that Banksy fans tend to walk past are better than anything he left: ROA’s seven-storey crane on Hanbury Street, painted in 2010, and Stik’s shouting figures on Grimsby Street, both still up according to London x London’s September 2026 route. None of them is behind perspex, and none of them needs a ticket.

How to see Banksy in Shoreditch properly

The honest answer: come for the area, not for Banksy. Most of the art on Shoreditch walls is by artists who are still painting here. A guided walk is the best way to see both. Alternative London’s walking tour promises ROA, Shepard Fairey, Invader, Stik and Vhils, with a possible Banksy, and warns that Banksy works on private property may be closed off. Shoreditch Street Art Tours has run walks since 2008, with public tours on Saturdays and Sundays. If you go alone, do the route in our Shoreditch street art walk, which passes the Rivington Street gate.

The facts

Guard Dog (2003) and His Master’s Voice: courtyard of 83 Rivington Street, EC2A, behind perspex.
Pulp Fiction (2002): near Old Street station, painted over April 2007.
Three monkeys (7 August 2024): Brick Lane railway bridge, removed December 2024.
Nearest stations: Old Street and Shoreditch High Street.