Inn’s Mouseman furniture is restored following fire
THE STAR Inn at Harome’s owner Andrew Pern has shared images of the 14th-century pub’s Mouseman furniture undergoing restoration.
Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson carved the oak bar and items such as chairs, tables and stools in his workshop in nearby Kilburn.
Staff were forced to rescue them from the flames when the Michelin-starred restaurant caught fire last November.
Almost all of the pieces were salvaged and sent to the Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen Ltd premises where they were made in the first half of the 20th century, as the business has remained in the family since his death in 1955.
Soot stains have been removed and the wood repaired, restained and finished ahead of their return.
The Star was the first of several country pubs in the North York Moors in which Robert
Thompson was commissioned to carve his trademark Mouseman furniture.
His work can be seen in many churches and schools, as well as in York Minster and Ampleforth Abbey.
Mr Pern praised the oak’s durability in the aftermath of the fire, writing on social media: “Survivor! Super Mouse. I salvaged him from the coffee loft balustrade after he’d been thrown onto a pile of burned wreckage.”
Thankfully all the rest of the Mouseman furniture was saved too, a chain of us all ferrying it out while the roof burned above and it is now safely in storage awaiting some TLC, and the bar is under wraps too.”
This week he updated followers about his visit to the workshop where he had viewed progress of the restoration work.
Specialist contractors are now on site at The Star and have encased the remains of the thatched roof in a protective canopy while the timbers beneath are repaired.
The rethatching will take place in August ahead of a planned autumn re-opening.
North Yorkshire Police are investigating the fire as arson, but so far no arrests have been made. A man has been interviewed voluntarily about the incident.