Historic Dockyard Chatham - The Ropery

Rope has been made in the dockyard since 1618 , the current buildings were built in 1790 and at the time it was the longest building in Europe with an internal length of 1,135 ft ( the rope walk itself is a quarter of a mile ) . It’s now a Grade 1 listed building. At the north end of the Ropery is the Hatchelling House , hemp was brought there from the Hemp House and then straightened by being pulled across spikes , it was then spun into yarn. Yarn was then taken to the White yarn house and pulled through a tar kettle before being taken and hung in the Black Yarn House to dry. Once dry they were placed on special spools and returned to the Ropery where they would be spun into rope

rope Chatham Historic Dockyard Kent Chatham

This image is available to purchase and is part of our Chatham Historic Dockyard Stock Photos Collection.