Inside ‘Banksyville’, where the elusive artist owns a pub and goes by the name ‘Dave’

A village near Glastonbury has been renamed ‘Banksy-ville’ – where the elusive artist owns a pub and locals call him Dave.

The artist’s identity was the subject of fresh speculation after an investigation from Reuters found he had changed his name from Robin Gunningham to David Jones.

But locals in Pilton, Somerset, say he is well known to many as the main benefactor behind the village pub’s major restoration.

And they claim the founder of Glastonbury, Michael Eavis, and Chris Martin from Coldplay have also been involved in the refurbishment.

The Crown Pilton Pub, just a stone’s throw away from Glastonbury Festival’s Worthy Farm site, has been the subject of intense speculation after £1,000,000 was spent sprucing it up in 2022.

Its current landlords, Owain Powell and Rowena Draper, took on running of the boozer a year earlier.

But neighbours to the site say it has been bankrolled by a celebrity trio, with Banksy at the heart of it.

One neighbour, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: ‘Oh, Banksy owns it. We call him Dave. He owns it secretly with Michael Eavis and Chris Martin from Coldplay. They stay unnamed.

‘I would know, my son worked there. Owain’s actually the manager. It used to be a scruffy pub, sold soup before the festival, but then it had that investment, and now it’s a listed building.’

One cabbie from the village said he has also picked Banksy up in his cab on a number of occasions.

He added: ‘Rumour has it Banksy owns that pub. My friends tell me they reckon Banksy’s one of the guys I drive around sometimes, they know the guy’s wife.

‘They say they’re going to ask her one day, but that’s pointless, even if it was they won’t say.’

With history dating back to the 17th century, the pub overlooks Pilton village, whose population of 1100 people is often bolstered by 250,000 festivalgoers.

One staff member remained tight-lipped and said the local speculation was just rumours.

‘It’s a vicious rumour,’ he said. ‘I own it, and I’m not Banksy! It’s good for business, though, it brings people in.’

Another local resident said they believed Banksy must’ve been involved in the village’s investment.

He added: ‘I reckon he’s involved with Michael Eavis’s investment. Eavis has put loads into Pilton, it’s great, he needs to for the festival.

‘You can tell because it gets stuff that other places don’t – there’s a pothole just outside the pub, it’ll get fixed before anywhere else.’

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