The Last Jester's Grave

A jester asked to be buried alone in a wood, and his stone still mocks those who pass.

Samuel Johnson (1691–1773), known as Maggoty Johnson and Lord Flame, was a dancing master and dramatist best known for the nonsense play 'Hurlothrumbo'. He is described as one of England's last professional jesters, and lived at Gawsworth. He was buried alone in a small spinney now called Maggoty Wood, rather than in the churchyard. An 1851 inscription on the tomb calls him a 'thoughtless jester even in his death, uttering his jibes beyond his latest breath'. The wood, owned by the National Trust since 1935, is full of bluebells in spring. Nearby Gawsworth Old Hall was home to Mary Fitton, perhaps Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady'.