Between Snowdonia and Sawdust: The Templar Jester of North Wales

Fra. Russel Erwood KCT was invested into The Knights Templar of England & Wales in October 2015. The same year he was made a jester.

The fact is, Russel isn’t just a jester he is the jester in North Wales.

A few months earlier on August 5th 2015, Russel was named Erwyd (the Welsh spelling of his surname) Jester of Conwy Town.

Russel said: “It was a wet and windy day, so pretty typical for a Saturday in August. Despite that, around 300 people gathered on Lancaster Square – many dressed in medieval clothing – to watch me be named the first jester of Conwy Town for over 720-years.”

The job of a jester is much the same now as it was seven centuries ago.

Russel explains: “My predecessor in Conwy was a chap named Tom. He left the town in 1295 after being hauled up inside the castle for six months due to the town being under siege. Because he was the jester of Edward I, we have quite a bit of information about him in the archives. What I find particularly interesting is that his exploits regularly mirror my own despite us living over 700-apart.

“We know that Tom regularly performed at public events such as festivals and fairs. We also know he worked private events like weddings, birthdays, and other similar celebrations. All of which I still do today.”

10-years on and Russel is still in the role.

“It’s been an amazing journey so far and I can’t quite believe I’ve been able to get to my tenth anniversary,” he said.

But how does a jester celebrate such a milestone?

Russel explains: “I don’t know how others would do it, but I decided to try to set a new world record.”

And that’s exactly what he did. On Friday 30th May 2025 Russel – aka Erwyd le Föl, Jester of Conwy – succeeded in balancing 17 full-sized sweeping brushes on his chin.

He said: “In my show, I regularly balance seven brushes. It’s become my signature piece. And so, I thought, what better way to celebrate than by adding one brush for every year of service to the pile? I’m just glad I managed to pull it off.”

But that’s not the only way he’s celebrating.

Russel continued: “Oh, yeah. I’ve also joined a circus.”

For the next four-months Russel will be touring North Wales with Peregrine Circus. Housed under a big top based on a design fro, the early 1800s, Peregrine Circus is new all-human circus that combines live music and international circus acts. With Russel in the role of host and guide.

He said: “Peregrine Circus is different to every other circus I’ve ever seen. There are no animals, which is great because it means we get to focus purely on human skills. We also have no clowns, and no ringmaster. Instead, they wanted to fuse the role of clown and ringmaster into one, which is, essentially, what a jester is. So, I get to spend my summer celebrating my tenth anniversary by working alongside phenomenal artists from all over the world who are able to do truly mind-blowing things. It’s genuinely a life-long dream come true.

“What makes this show particularly special is the design of the tent. It allows us to create a far more intimate show than most circuses can, so the audience really feel they are part of the action rather than just being on the periphery of it. We are also able to visit locations that most circuses can’t. So, we’re hitting some locations that have never had a circus before.”

If you are in North Wales over the summer, you can catch Fra. Russel in Peregrine Circus’s debut tour in various locations including Wrexham, Bangor, Machynlleth, Dolgellau, Llandudno, and Betws Y Coed.

For more information on exactly where the circus will be you can visit the show’s website at www.peregrinecircus.com.