For after street artist Banksy denied he created the work, the question is who did?

And, almost as pertinently, how closely was it linked to controversial plans for a £30m cultural hub at a theatre around the corner, where it is said - most loudly by the project's backers - that Shakespeare once performed.

One of the first to announce the appearance of the stencilled portrait of the Bard in the doorway of a Wetherspoons car park in King's Lynn this week was West Norfolk council, which sent workers to cover it in clear plastic sheeting.

The graffiti before it was covered in plastic sheeting (Image: BCKLWN)

It was quick to trumpet the artwork on social media, posting pictures and linking it directly to the theatre's revamp.

It wrote: "This appeared overnight close to the Globe, just down from the UK’s oldest working theatre and the only theatre left that can credibly claim to have hosted William Shakespeare, St George's Guildhall.

"As part of our town deal regeneration programme, we are currently working to restore and enhance the guildhall as a local, regional and international centre for arts and creativity."

The guildhall project is an incredibly ambitious one that, its supporters hope, will create an internationally-renowned cultural destination on the banks of........

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