Members of Appleton le Moors WI were surrounded by mice on their spring outing to Ampleforth Abbey but no one was screaming or climbing on chairs, as the mice in question were the work of ‘mouseman’ Robert Thompson. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Thompson’s birth and Ampleforth Abbey holds the largest collection of his work.
We enjoyed a tour of the college library, which is usually off limits to visitors, and the abbey itself, with Father Ambrose and Father Chad proving to be friendly, witty and knowledgeable guides. The abbey was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, a renowned 20th century architect who designed the red telephone box and Battersea Power Station amongst other things. Having originally wanted to use a team of craftsmen from London for all the carpentry and furniture, Gilbert Scott formed what appeared on the face of it a very unlikely partnership with Yorkshireman Thompson. Working on the abbey until the day before he died, Thompson’s trademark mouse is everywhere. In the abbey alone there are 89 mice and hundreds more throughout the Ampleforth complex.
Having followed the trail of the mice through the college and abbey, we had, of course to search them out in the tea room!
For details of this and other tours, for any WIs or individual members who might be interested in visiting, please contact Catherine Hodgson, Head of Marketing, Communications and Development 01439 766097 or email ch@ampleforthabbey.org.uk