Morning is Broken — Banksy, Herne Bay
Morning is Broken
Banksy · Blacksole Farm, near Herne Bay · Kent, England
Photo from Street Art Utopia’s archive, uploaded on 15 March 2023; no photographer is recorded. The Guardian credits its pictures of the work to Banksy’s Instagram. Full photograph shown.
For about a day, a derelict farmhouse near Herne Bay had a Banksy: a silhouetted boy flinging open corrugated-iron curtains, a cat at his side. When Banksy confirmed Morning is Broken on Instagram on 15 March 2023, demolition crews had already started on the building the day before. KentOnline · The Guardian Checked
5 things to know
- Confirmed a day too lateBanksy posted three photographs on Wednesday 15 March 2023: the house, a close-up of the work and the demolition. KentOnline reported that construction vehicles had started removing the building the day before. The Guardian · KentOnline Checked
- Nobody on site knewContractor George Caudwell told KentOnline the crew had no idea it was a Banksy, and that the landowner watched the demolition without knowing either. KentOnline · The Guardian Checked
- A piece came out of the skipAfter the post, builders searched the rubble and found a large piece that still carried most of the artwork. Who holds it now is not reported in these sources. KentOnline · Artnet News Checked
- An old house making way for homesThe Broomfield site, owned by developer Kitewood, is earmarked for 67 homes. KentOnline says the farmhouse dated as far back as 1529 and that Kitewood had permission to flatten it from late 2022. KentOnline · Artnet News Checked The 1529 date: Reported
- One of several in KentKentOnline called it the fourth Banksy piece created in Kent, after Valentine’s Day Mascara appeared in Margate a month earlier. KentOnline · The Guardian Reported
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Former site: a farmhouse at Blacksole Farm, Broomfield, near Herne Bay, Kent. KentOnline · Far Out · Artnet News Checked
- 🧱
- Nothing to visit: demolition began on 14 March 2023 and the site is earmarked for housing. KentOnline · The Guardian Checked
- 🧭
- The map search below is for Blacksole Farm; the exact position of the demolished house on the site is Unconfirmed.
Sightings
- 202315 Mar
Banksy’s Instagram post
- 202315 Mar
Already torn down
- 202315 Mar
Piece pulled from a skip
- 202315 Mar
Guardian: site demolished
- 202316 Mar
Far Out: partly demolished
All stamps are publication dates from 15 and 16 March 2023. The amber stamp is Banksy’s own post; the Guardian dates it to Wednesday 15 March. Red stamps record the demolition, which had begun on 14 March, before any of these reports appeared.
On the record
The demolition crew
“We had no idea it was a Banksy.”
Contractor George Caudwell, quoted by Chantal Weller.
Out of the rubble
“It was like the holy grail coming out of a skip.”
Banksy fan Adam Brooks, who lives nearby and watched builders recover a piece of the work.
Site demolished
“The site of Banksy’s latest work, an outside wall of a derelict farmhouse in the seaside town of Herne Bay in Kent, has been demolished.”
Opening line of Nadeem Badshah’s report.
The facts
- Title
- Morning is Broken. KentOnline · The Guardian · Far Out Checked
- Artist
- Banksy, who claimed the work on Instagram on 15 March 2023. The Guardian · KentOnline · Artnet News Checked
- Image
- A silhouetted boy opening corrugated-iron curtains in a bricked-up window, with a cat beside him. KentOnline · The Guardian · Far Out Checked
- Location
- Former farmhouse at Blacksole Farm, Broomfield, near Herne Bay, Kent. KentOnline · Far Out · Artnet News Checked
- Painted
- The painting date is not given in these sources; the work became public on 15 March 2023. Unconfirmed
- Building
- A farmhouse said to date back to 1529. KentOnline Reported
- Landowner
- Kitewood; the site is earmarked for 67 homes. KentOnline · The Guardian · Artnet News Checked
- Demolition
- Began on 14 March 2023, before Banksy’s post. KentOnline · The Guardian Checked
- Surviving piece
- Builders recovered a large piece carrying most of the artwork. KentOnline · Artnet News Checked Its later whereabouts Unconfirmed
- Status
- Gone 2023. KentOnline · The Guardian Checked
- Photograph
- Street Art Utopia archive image uploaded on 15 March 2023, photographer not recorded. Unconfirmed
Related
- Street Art Double Takes (9 Photos): the SAU collection that includes this work.
- Some Of Banksys Most Clever Street Art (12 Photos): more Banksy pieces that use what is already there.
- Cinderella’s Carriage by Banksy: another Banksy work in England with its own Artwork File.
All sources (6)
Reports from 15–16 March 2023
- KentOnline: Banksy confirms new artwork but it’s already been torn down, Chantal Weller, 15 March 2023. Site, demolition date, landowner, 67 homes, contractor’s account.
- KentOnline: Broken pieces of Banksy artwork fished out of skip, Chantal Weller, 15 March 2023. Recovery of a piece; Adam Brooks’s account. Counted with the first KentOnline report as one source.
- The Guardian: Latest Banksy mural smashed as derelict farmhouse demolished, Nadeem Badshah, 15 March 2023. Banksy’s three Instagram photos; demolition from Tuesday.
- Artnet News: Banksy Created His Latest Artwork on a Rundown Farmhouse by the British Seaside—Only to Have It Immediately Destroyed, Sarah Cascone, 15 March 2023. Title, Blacksole Farm, 67 homes and the recovered piece; cites KentOnline.
- Far Out: Banksy mural discovered on abandoned Herne Bay farmhouse, Sam Kemp, 16 March 2023. Title, Blacksole Farm, owner Kitewood.
The artist
- Banksy on Instagram: the Morning is Broken post, 15 March 2023, as linked by Artnet News and described by The Guardian.
Artwork File · Last checked 14 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files