Billy Purvis

Billy Purvis was a Scottish-born clown and travelling showman who grew up in Newcastle and became a prominent entertainer across the North. His nickname, the “Jester of the North”, appears on his gravestone at St Hilda’s Church in Hartlepool, where he was buried after his death in 1853.

He also features in one of the stories about the origin of “Geordie”. In that account, Purvis used the word to mock a rival performer in 1823. It is one of several explanations for how the name became associated with people from Tyneside.