"The grave of the last court jester in England. This tabletop memorial marks the last resting place of Dicky Pearce, the Earl of Berkeley's fool, in the churchyard next to Berkeley Castle.
Jesters fell out of favour as the Stuart Era rolled out, disappearing completely under the Cromwell regime. The fools bounced back during the Restoration but their days were numbered, leaving Dicky Pearce as the last fool standing during the reign of George II.
During a particularly energetic performance from the minstrel gallery in Berkeley castle Dicky fell hard against the railing, flipping then falling to his death. It has been suggested that he may have been shoved by someone working for one of the Earl's guests who had not taken kindly to being roasted by the last jester.
In any case the Earl shelled out for a grand memorial for his fool, and asked the famous writer Daniel Defoe to write his epitaph, to be etched into stone forever."
"Here lies the Earl of Suffolk's fool
Men called him Dicky Pearce
His folly served to make folk laugh
When wit and mirth were scarce
Poor Dick, alas, is dead and gone
What signifies to cry!
Dicky's enough are still behind
To laugh at by-and-by"
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