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Crafts
Sleeping elephants, books, fine foods & wool
Which Masham treasures have you discovered?
Flat caps and Clapham
A little story about flat caps, Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales & Peaky Blinders. Know why woollen flat caps are so popular? Their story goes back almost 500 years. In order to protect the wool trade, a law was passed in 1571 that all non-noble men and boys over 6 should wear a wool cap on Sundays and public holidays. They were fined if they didn’t. By the time the law was repealed in the 1590s, the tradition had stuck. It continued through the centuries, especially in colder areas with easy acce…
Finding the work of the Mouseman
Where have you seen evidence of the Mouseman? I'm not talking about vermin control! This small carved mouse made him famous, and his work is still to be seen in hidden spots through-out Yorkshire and on furniture that now commands high prices.
The 'Mouseman' was Robert Thompson, born in 1876. He lived in Kilburn near Thirsk and made oak furniture. A small carved mouse made him famous.
He was carving an altar rail one day, bemoaning his poverty with a colleague, saying they were 'as poor as a …
The Terrible Knitters of Dent
Have you heard of the 'Terrible Knitters of Dent'? Nowadays Dent is a tiny, quiet little hill village near Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, instantly recognisable for its whitewashed cottages. Until the 19th century, Dent would have resounded with the clickety clack of hundreds of knitting needles! In those days knitting wasn't an activity associated with women or hobbies - it was something done by men, women and children and was an essential way to supplement meagre incomes.
Whethe…
