Muncaster appointed its first jester for more than 350 years on June 3rd 2005 after an exciting and unusual competition.

Each of the would be jesters had 10 minutes to demonstrate their skills. There was a frenzy of activity as they told jokes, juggled and performed a variety of acrobatic and magic tricks in front of an audience of about 600 people.

At the end of a closely fought competition Jem Famous from Ambleside was crowned the new Fool of Muncaster. He got the biggest cheer at the end of his performance which included juggling knives on top of a seven foot uni-cycle and the judges agreed he richly deserved the title.

Patrick Gordon Duff Pennington was one of the judges along with his grandson Ewan and Dr Jason Braithwaite.

Patrick said "Everyone had a lot of fun. I really think all the competitiors deserved to win so it was very hard to choose a winner. I think Jem Famous will be an ideal jester for Muncaster"

Jem who also won £500 and a crate of Jennings beer every month for a year said: "My kids will be really pleased that I'm now an official Fool because they've been telling me that I'm a fool for years."

Muncaster was the home of the original Tom Fool. He was the inspiration for the Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear, giving the word 'tomfoolery' to the English language.

The Pennington family will once again be able to call on the services of a professional funnyman. Medieval Jesters had to be constantly on hand to lift the spirits of their bosses. By contrast, the new Fool will have it easy. he will only need to appear at the Castle two or three times over the next year.

The contest, which was dubbed the Fool Factor, was sponsored by Cumbrian brewery Jennings. The losing jesters will at least be able to drown their sorrows, walking away with a consolation prize of one crate of Jennings Ale each.