On a walk on Pentonville Road I discovered the grave of the first clown. "Joseph Grimaldi, 1778-1837. Joseph Grimaldi was 5 years old when he first went on the stage of Sadler's Wells with his father, and worked there for 43 years as performer and part-proprietor.
From his debut in 1806 at Covent Garden in Mother Goose he was adored by all and could fill a theatre anywhere. The name Joey has passed into our language to mean a clown.
He lived all his life among the people of Clerkenwell and died at 33 Southampton Street now called Calshot Street.
Islington Council has called the park in which he lies buried the Joseph Grimaldi Park to commemorate a great artist and a great man."
