Robert Thompson Furniture

Waddington’s Worksop store is renowned in the area for the fabulous Robert Thompson furniture and fittings seen throughout the shop.

Commissioned by Clifford Waddington in the 1950’s, the fixtures include panelled walls, display cabinetry, service desks and tables, chairs and benches, many of which were built especially for the store. The honeyed tones of the nearly 70-year-old English oak used creates a mellow and welcoming feel to the shop, reminiscent of a gentleman’s club.

Robert Thompson, now forever known as ‘The Mouseman’, was born in 1876 and dedicated his life to the craft of carving and joinery in English Oak. He taught himself to use the traditional tools of his trade, and by 1919 was experimenting with his own ideas for producing furniture based on the English styles of the 17th Century.

The famous mouse symbol, found on every item crafted by Robert Thompson’s, has an uncertain history. The story told by Thompson himself is that one of his craftsmen remarked that they were “all as poor as church mice”, whereupon Robert carved a mouse on the church screen he was working on at the time. That particular mouse has never been found, but the company’s use of a mouse has become a symbolic trademark of Thompson furniture quality and dedication to craftsmanship ever since, and is now an instantly recognisable signature of a Robert Thompson’s piece.

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