If you are a clown enthusiast, you must pay a visit to a London church which is reported to be the home to the world’s biggest collection of clown memorabilia, and is known as the “spiritual home of clowns”. Costumes and props from the world of clowning, a gallery, an archive and a reference library on clowning are also displayed. /VCG Photo

The collection, which includes replicas of famous clown makeup painted onto miniature clown heads made from eggshells, is owned by Clowns International. /VCG Photo

Clowns have had an “official” church in London since the 1940s, starting with St James’s Church in Islington, the burial place of Joseph Grimaldi, who is regarded as the father of modern clowning. /VCG Photo

Mattie Faint, 65, also known as Mattie the Clown, has been director of the museum at the Holy Trinity Church for 31 years. /VCG Photo