Tom Fool

Afternoon spent at Muncaster Castle. This is a portrait of the famous Tom Fool who use to reside at the castle.  Not a nice man by all accounts.
Muncaster is the only historic home in the UK, as far as we know, which still appoints an official Fool. The tradition of keeping an official fool or jester dates back many centuries but the best known fool in Muncaster’s history was Thomas Skelton, or Tom the Fool, who reigned in the mid-16th century. The Castle’s archives show records of the purchase of his jester’s motley and his portrait hangs in the Castle.
Tom’s pranks weren’t always so amusing though. Apparently he would sit under the chestnut tree on the Cannon Bank which now bears his name and if people asked him directions and he didn’t like the look of them, he would send them on a route over the estuaries bound to lead them into quicksand