Key Points
- A new mural is being painted on the wall opposite the existing “Pride of the West” mural outside Ashton Gate.
- The artwork is part of Bristol City’s ongoing tribute to club legends and fan-led stadium art around Ashton Gate.
- Bristol street artist Andy Colwell is behind the latest mural project, according to the BBC report.
- The mural is expected to honour six Bristol City icons who played between the 1950s and the 1990s.
- The tribute is the latest in a series of murals commissioned around the ground in recent years.
- Earlier works have recognised former captains Louis Carey and Geoff Merrick, as well as Chris Garland.
- The new artwork is part of a wider fan and heritage effort to celebrate Bristol City history.
uk/local/bedminster/">Bedminster (Bristol Express News) July 24, 2026, are seeing another large mural take shape outside Ashton Gate as the club’s history is once again being put on the wall, with the latest tribute created opposite the existing “Pride of the West” artwork.As reported by the BBC, the new mural is designed to celebrate six Bristol City attacking greats, described as former club icons from the 1950s through to the 1990s. The report says the artwork is being created near the club’s home ground by Bristol artist Andy Colwell, and it will add to the growing collection of football-themed murals in the Bedminster area.
The location matters because Ashton Gate has become something of an open-air gallery for Bristol City heritage, with murals already marking out different eras and personalities from the club’s past. The latest piece continues that pattern rather than standing alone, making it part of a broader visual story around the stadium.
Who is the mural meant to honour?
The BBC says the mural depicts six forwards: Rogers, Antzen, Johnley, Tom Ritchie, Alan Walsh and Bob Taylor. The report adds that they represent Bristol City across several decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s.
Bristol247’s coverage of the related fan-art project says the broader “Pride of the Past: Bristol City’s Legends Through the Lens” initiative was intended to show the club’s history from as early as 1909, with figures including Alan Dicks, John Atyeo, Paul Cheesley, Terry Cooper, Steve Cotterill, Joe Jordan and Scott Murray. Art4Fans, the fan collective behind that wider project, also says its fourth mural, “Pride of the West”, was launched on Thursday 7 August 2025.
That means the new wall painting is not the first tribute of its kind, but part of a sequence of commemorations around Ashton Gate.
The club’s past is being presented through a mix of portraits, fan-led artwork and stadium-adjacent murals that help turn football history into something visible on matchdays.
How does this fit Bristol City’s mural history?
Bristol247 reported in July 2025 that the project near the Atyeo Stand entrance was the latest in a series from Art4Fans, a Bristol fan collective focused on celebrating people who have excelled in a field and their supporters. That report said the wall was over 44 feet tall and covered three storeys, making it the collective’s largest work at that point.
The BBC’s earlier piece also noted that the mural being painted in December 2024 was the third commissioned within the previous year, following tributes to Louis Carey and Geoff Merrick on the Rising Sun pub and Chris Garland on the Coopers Arms, both in Bedminster.
Bristol247 separately reported the 2024 “Captains Fantastic” mural of Carey and Merrick, saying Louis Carey described himself as “honoured” to be represented alongside Geoff Merrick.
Taken together, the reports show a clear theme: Bristol City’s supporters, artists and local businesses are helping build a visible heritage trail around Ashton Gate.
That trail now includes murals, pub walls and club-adjacent public art that link modern match-going culture with the club’s older history.
What have organisers said about the project?
Art4Fans says on its own website that its third project launched on Saturday 14 December 2024 and featured six “Goal makers and Ace Strikers” from the 1950s to the 1990s. The same site says its latest and fourth mural, “Pride of the West”, was launched on Thursday 7 August 2025.
Bristol247 reported that the large mural near the Atyeo Stand was designed and painted by Bristol street artists Jody and Inkie, with fans able to contribute by donating and having their names painted alongside club celebrities.
The same report said the unveiling was weather-dependent and planned for a Thursday, with legends or their representatives expected to attend.
The BBC’s report focused more on the identity of the players being honoured and the artist behind the wall, but it matched the broader pattern of fan-driven celebration around the ground. In each case, the projects are presented as tributes rather than commercial branding exercises.
Why does this matter for supporters?
For Bristol City supporters, the mural is another public reminder of the club’s history at the stadium itself, rather than in a museum or programme. That makes the tribute part of the matchday landscape, visible to fans, visitors and local residents passing Ashton Gate.
The repeated focus on legends also suggests that the club’s heritage remains an active part of how its identity is displayed in the city. Rather than a single one-off artwork, the area now appears to be developing a cluster of commemorations that recognise different generations of Bristol City figures.
That can matter because public art often becomes a reference point for memory and discussion among supporters, especially when it features players from different eras. In this case, the mural gives older and newer fans a shared visual reminder of the club’s past.
Background of the development
Bristol City has seen a steady rise in commemorative murals around Ashton Gate in the past year or so, with different projects marking captains, strikers and wider club heroes.
The BBC reported in December 2024 that a mural honouring six club icons was being created near the ground, and Bristol247 later documented the continued expansion of the fan-led art trail through 2025.
Art4Fans says its work is built around celebrating Bristol City history through murals, and its website shows the sequence of projects moving from one tribute to the next.
Separate coverage of the Rising Sun and Coopers Arms murals shows the same heritage theme spreading across nearby streets in Bedminster.
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Prediction for supporters
For Bristol City supporters, the most likely effect is a stronger sense of place around Ashton Gate, with more of the club’s history embedded into the walk to the stadium.
As these murals build up, fans may increasingly use them as informal meeting points, photo spots and talking points before and after matches.
The development may also encourage more fan-led or community-backed tributes if the current murals continue to attract attention and support. For younger supporters in particular, the artwork can make older club figures more visible and easier to connect with, even if they never saw them play.
