Joseph Grimaldi
Finchley’s Famous Clown

Griff Rhys Jones, the well-known comedian, unveiled a new blue plaque erected in memory of the famous clown Joseph Grimaldi. Griff is President of Civic Voice, a charity that campaigns for better places in the built and green environment. You can find out more about the unveiling here.

The original plaque hung on the wall of the old Finchley Memorial Hospital, but disappeared when the building was demolished. An information panel designed by the Society’s Peter Marsh, which provides details of Grimaldi’s life, was also unveiled in the grounds of Finchley Memorial Hospital.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday 4 October 2016, close to the cottage where Joseph lived and where the new sign is sited (5 Graywood Court N12 0JJ).

A crowd of about 40 people had gathered on a bright but windy afternoon for the unveiling. Mr David Smith, Chairman of the Finchley Society began proceedings by welcoming all those present especially the Mayor of Barnet Councillor David Longstaff and Mr Griff Rhys Jones, President of Civic Voice. He thanked all those involved whose permission and assistance had made the project possible.

He paid tribute to the late Peggy Wells, a former local resident and member of the Finchley Society who’s bequest had enabled this and other plaques in the area to be established and was delighted to see that her nephew Mark Wells was able to attend the unveiling.

The Mayor then unveiled a plaque on the wall of the house which stands on the spot where Joseph Grimaldi lived from 1806 to 1827.

The party then moved to the other side of the road where the Finchley Society have established an information plaque at street level where it could easily be read by all. This plaque gives much more detail about the man known as “The original white faced clown” so that the local community do not only know of the man who once lived in their midst but understand his place in the history of entertainment.

In his speech the Mayor thanked the Society and paid tribute to the wonderful work done by them in erecting similar plaques around Finchley thus informing the public of what actually happened and of the great deeds carried out by those named on the plaques.

Before unveiling the information plaque Griff Rhys Jones explained some of the role of Civic Societies throughout Britain whose membership was close to 250,000. He summed up the role as “Keeping us involved with the continuity of the places where we live” and went on to say that what the societies do in relation to planning permissions, “Is to make sure that what is happening is sensibly thought through and if we don’t do it then nobody else will”.

Griff noted that a former plaque to Grimaldi, which had disappeared when the building to which it was attached was demolished, had been unveiled by the late Spike Milligan, who was a local resident and Patron of the Finchley Society for many years, and thought it “fantastic” that he was able to follow on from Spike.

You can listen to the remarks by David Smith, David Longstaff, and Griff Rhys Jones:

The unveiling was mentioned in the Civic Voice newsletter. You can see press coverage of the unveiling here.

You can find out more about the Society’s blue plaques here and information panels here.