BUILDINGS dating back hundreds of years have been given a new lease of life to celebrate the work of one of the region's most famous craftsmen.

An old blacksmiths' shop and two sixteenth-century cottages have been converted into an extension to the visitor centre honouring Robert Thompson, the renowned 'Mouseman' of Kilburn, near Thirsk.

He died in 1955 but his work can be found worldwide in everything from cathedrals to village churches and thousands of tourists flock to the workshops which still create furniture in his inimitable style.

Thompson earned his nickname because of the trademark mouse that featured on all his work. The visitor centre features his work and also life in Kilburn.

His great-grandson, Ian Cartwright Thompson, said: "The centre features one man's work from start to finish.

"It includes room settings recreating his own cottage as well as an audio-visual room looking out on to the very oaks that one day will become a classic piece of Robert Thompson furniture."

He scoured the length and breadth of Britain to track down some of the Mouseman's finest pieces and bought them to feature in the new centre, which includes his original workshop.