__NOTOC__ Robert (Mouseman) Thompson (7 May 1876 – 8 December 1955), also known as Mousey Thompson, was a British furniture maker. He was born and lived in Kilburn,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he set up a business manufacturing

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

furniture, which featured a carved mouse on almost every piece. AltarRailMouse

It is claimed that the mouse motif came about accidentally in 1919 following a conversation about "being as poor as a church mouse", which took place between Thompson and one of his colleagues during the carving of a cornice for a

screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

. This chance remark led to him carving a mouse and this remained part of his work from this point onwards. Thompson was part of the 1920s revival of craftsmanship, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement led by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

and

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

. More specific to furniture making in this genre and era include Stanley Webb Davies of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

. The workshop, now being run by his descendants, includes a showroom and visitors' centre, and is located beside the Parish Church, which contains "Mouseman"

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s, fittings and other furniture. The company is now known as "Robert Thompson's Craftsmen Ltd – The Mouseman of Kilburn." Fr Paul Nevill, a former Headmaster of

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

, asked Thompson to make the

Ampleforth Abbey Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine monks a mile to the east of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre- Reformation community at Westminster Abbey throug ...

's furniture; the school liked it so much that Ampleforth kept asking Thompson for more work, including the library and most of the main building. Most of Ampleforth College's houses are now decorated with Robert Thompson's furniture. Others, including former apprentices who continued in his style working in Yorkshire oak, adopted similar identifying marks and nicknames. These makers include Thomas "Gnomeman" Whittaker (1910–1991), Derek "Lizardman" Slater, Colin "Beaverman" Almack, Robert "Rabbitman" Heap, Graham "Swanman" Duncalf, Alan "Acornman" Grainger, Wilf "Squirrelman" Hutchinson, Albert "Eagleman" Jeffray, Malcolm "Foxman" Pipes, and Shaw & Riley "The Seahorsemen of Hessay".

Gallery

File:Mouseman lychgate at Greenhow - geograph.org.uk - 188580.jpg, Mouseman

lychgate A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...

at Greenhow, North Yorkshire File:Mouseman mouse - geograph.org.uk - 188588.jpg, Mouse on the Greenhow lychgate File:Visitor Centre for Thompsons 'Mouseman' Furniture.jpg, Mouseman Visitor Centre in Kilburn, North Yorkshire

Where to see "Mouseman" furniture

Mouseman Visitor Centre
* All Saints Church, Allesley * Bangor Cathedral * St Mary's Church, Beverley *

Craven Museum & Gallery Craven Museum & Gallery is a museum located in the town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, England in Skipton Town Hall. The museum holds a collection of local artefacts that depict life in Craven from the prehistoric times to the modern day. In J ...

The Museum of North Craven Life; The Folly

Settle, North Yorkshire Settle is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is served by Settle railway station located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station whic ...

* St Nicholas' Church, Stevenage, pews (1964)

References

External links

Company homepage
in Old Malton War Memorial Hall, quite close to Kilburn {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Robert 1876 births 1955 deaths People from Hambleton District British furniture designers British furniture makers English woodcarvers Place of death missing