There are some great names in the world of antique furniture, from Chippendale and Hepplewhite to Heals and Gillows, but few are more beloved than an unassuming Yorkshire joiner and carver who worked his whole life in the village he was born in, and made his trademark a humble mouse. I speak of course of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson.
Robert was born on 7th May 1876, the sixth son of joiner John Thompson, in the small Yorkshire village of Kilburn. Aged fifteen, he left school and started an engineering apprenticeship in Cleckheaton, which meant a long bus journey with a change in Rippon. It was while waiting for his bus home that Robert began visiting Ripon Cathedral, and started sketching its medieval architecture and carvings. This experience, he later recalled, inspired him to ‘bring back to life the spirit of medieval oak work, which had been dead for so many long years’.
In 1894, at the relatively late age of twenty, Robert abandoned engineering and joined his father and brother in the family joinery business, repairing rooves and making fences and gates. Inspired by his visits to Rippon, he also began making pulpits, alter rails and choir stalls, honing his skills over the next two decades. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Robert’s craftsmanship was so highly regarded that he was designated a protected profession by the Government and remained in Yorkshire throughout the war, ensuring that Britain’s historic buildings would have access to his skills despite the conflict. After the war, he created numerous remembrance memorials to the fallen.
You may notice that even after twenty years as a carver, Robert was still known as Robert, so where did the ‘Mouseman’ monicker come from? In fact, it didn’t appear until 1919. Robert would later recount that, ‘The origin of the mouse as my mark was almost in the way of being an accident. I and another carver were carving a huge cornice for a screen, and he happened to say something about being poor as a church mouse. I said, “I’ll carve a mouse here” and did so. Then it struck me – what a lovely trademark!’
So Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson was born, and a century later, his name and his work remain highly sought after. Original ‘Mouseman’ pieces made in his lifetime can command huge sums at auction – a 1937 refectory table sold for £42,000 last year – but there are more affordable ways to own a ‘Mouseman’ piece. After his death in 1955, the ‘Mouseman’ named lived on in the hands of the highly skilled craftsmen Robert trained at his workshop in Kilburn. Their work, described at auction as being ‘by the workshop of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson’, shows all the charm and quality of Robert’s own, but without the five figure price tag.
At Trevanion Auctioneers we recently sold a lovely oak and leather smoker’s chair for £2100 plus fees, an oval wall mirror for £1200 plus fees and an unusual stick stand for £1100 plus fees, but you can get into the market with something as simple as a set of napkin rings, which could be just a few hundred pounds.
‘Mouseman’ remains perennially popular, so if you have pieces to sell, book a valuation appointment now and see what they might be worth. Call Trevanion Auctioneers on 01948 800 202.
