06/08/2025
100s of tiny hidden wooden mice, a giant horse, permanently open birds' mouths & an amazing 'pub': find them all in a haven hidden from the world, reached through green tunnel lanes (the trees are so lush), in the shadow of Sutton Bank. More about the horse and birds later: the mice are more famous!
You may have already seen 'Mouseman' wooden mice carved into half-hidden places? They're to be found all over Yorkshire, particularly in churches and older pubs as well as on oak furniture and cheeseboards which have found their way across the world to collectors who prize them for their tactile feel and increasing value. Their source can be found in Kilburn at the "House of the Mouse" where Robert Thompson's craftsmen work. There's a viewing gallery in the workshop so you can see their skill at work.
The 'Mouseman' was Robert Thompson, born in 1876. He lived in Kilburn near Thirsk and worked in the family carpentry business. When undergoing an apprenticeship near Leeds he travelled weekly through Ripon and enjoyed spending time in Ripon Cathedral where he appreciated the fifteenth century carvings and craftsmanship. That was part of his inspiration.
Many years later he was carving an altar rail one day, bemoaning his poverty with a colleague, saying they were 'as poor as a church mouse'. According to his great grandson, "he had this idea of a church mouse gnawing away and no one knew it was there, so thought it was a good idea to use it as a trademark". From that moment on, he carved a small mouse on every piece he made, and became known to future generations as 'the Mouseman'.
Perhaps part of the charm is that his mice are rarely in the same position so you have to hunt for them a little. They could be on a table leg or the underside of a chair so there's a burst of pleasure when you spot one, knowing not everyone will.
Where have you spotted mouseman carvings? Or perhaps you're lucky enough to have something yourself?
The permanently open birds' mouths are part of a small distinctive feature to be found in many areas of the North York Moors National Park. Birds' mouth fencing is the distinctive diamond-shaped white fencing to be found along becks and roadsides in the area - there's some next to the Mouseman workshop.
A few metres out of Kilburn towards Oldstead, look up at the hillside to see a startling sight - particularly noticeable in Spring and Autumn - there's a huge white horse on the hillside, known as the Kilburn White Horse, a turf-cut figure carved into Roulston Scar in the 1850s. It was sort of a school project - Thomas Taylor was helped by school pupils to clear the scrub and expose the rock before the horse was created. Now it's maintained by Forestry England who w**d the area to keep it clear of vegetation and paint it so it remains a prominent landmark.
Another 'landmark' can be found just around the corner in Oldstead - The Black Swan at Oldstead - Michelin Star Restaurant with Rooms. We were lucky enough to come across it years ago before the fame of Tommy Banks and his family, when it was still possible to wander in and enjoy a meal without always booking. Now it draws people from all over the world.
But I wonder how many of them notice the tiny wooden mice?
