![The Ropewalk in Edam MET DT219417](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/The_Ropewalk_in_Edam_MET_DT219417.jpg)
A ropewalk is a long straight narrow
lane
In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...
, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material are laid before being twisted into
rope
A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...
. Due to the length of some ropewalks, workers may use
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s to get from one end to the other.
Many ropewalks were in the open air, while others were covered only by roofs. Ropewalks historically frequently caught fire, as hemp dust ignites easily and burns fiercely. Rope was essential in
sailing ships
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...
and the standard length for a British Naval Rope was . A sailing ship such as required of rope.
Rope-making technology
Natural fibres are short in length, and so have to be twisted together into different fibres, starting at different points along the construction, to hold each other together. From a single strand, much like wool, which can easily be torn apart, putting several together forms a line, which is far stronger. That can similarly be repeated time and again, producing a very strong rope, at the cost of weight and size. More modern fibres are likewise spun together for the same reasons, but because they are inherently stronger, similar strength is often achieved at much lower weight and size.
The essence of a ropewalk, where this spinning is achieved, is a drive mechanism at one end of the walk, a "donkey" guide in the middle, which helps the ropemaker bring the strands together, and a fixing point at the far end. One end or the other is mobile, because the twisting shortens the constituent parts of the rope, and the runner in the middle is always mobile, because the rope, when sufficiently twisted, starts to form at one end and the guide then has to run back towards the drive end, guiding the twist into place: this can be a very fast action, once sufficient twist is in place.
The runner is in general somewhat melon-shaped, with grooves in it designed to guide the strands of the rope into place as they form, and sometimes a hollow centre to allow the feed of a central core into the rope: the central core is not normally twisted. When a twisted rope or cord is used as a strand, it is spun in the opposite direction to the "handedness" of the strand (i.e. a strand which has been spun together anti-clockwise is twisted in a clockwise direction when it is spun into a larger rope, and vice versa).
Because of the very great weight of such lengths of natural fibre, other support trestles are also sometimes used to keep the weight off the ground, where the friction might overcome the strength of the equipment. Other lubrication has sometimes been used to assist the process.
Very long cables, such as those used for long-distance undersea communications, have more complex structures, but nonetheless start with similar elements. Because the distances involved are far greater, a more continuous flow process replaces the standard ropewalk, shortening the length of the walk as the runner becomes static, and the feed end becomes far more complex as it has to spin in one direction whilst laying the rope in the other. Although further waterproofing and armoured coatings are normal, the core of the rope is similar to the description.
Examples
Downtown
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
's bohemian
RopeWalks district takes its name from this practice and consists of the lanes where this work once took place.
Cable Street
Cable Street is a road in the East End of London, England, with several historic landmarks nearby. It was made famous by the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
Location
Cable Street starts near the edge of London's financial district, the City ...
in London started as a straight path along which hemp ropes were twisted into ships' cables (i.e. ropes).
![Donaghysropewalk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Donaghysropewalk.jpg)
The ropewalk at
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
(as part of the Ropery or Ropehouse) is still producing rope commercially and has an internal length of . When it was constructed in 1790, it was the longest brick building in Europe. Before steam power was introduced in 1836, it took over 200 men to form and close a cable laid rope of
circumference
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to ...
.
["The Historic Dockyard Chatham, where legends were created." Guide Book. 2005. Jarrold Publishing.] The rope walk is used to form and close the rope, these being the final stages in rope making. Before this the raw
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
,
manila hemp
Manila hemp, also known as abacá, is a type of buff-colored fiber obtained from ''Musa textilis'' (a relative of edible bananas), which is likewise called Manila hemp as well as abacá. It is mostly used for pulping for a range of uses, inclu ...
or
sisal
Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal ma ...
has to be
hatchelled, spun into
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufact ...
, and
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
red.
In the early 17th century, Peter Appleby constructed a ropewalk (for the dockyard) in the
Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
neighbourhood of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
From the late 17th century, the
ropewalk
A ropewalk is a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material are laid before being twisted into rope. Due to the length of some ropewalks, workers may use bicycles to get from one end to the other.
Many ropew ...
on the Swedish island of
Lindholmen Lindholmen may refer to:
Places
* Lindholmen, Gothenburg, a district on the island of Hisingen
* Lindholmen, Karlskrona, an island south of Karlskrona
* Lindholmen, Vallentuna, a locality in Stockholm County
Other uses
* Lindholmen Castle, a for ...
was a key component of the
Karlskrona naval base
The Karlskrona naval base ( sv, Karlskrona örlogsbas) is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. Located in Blekinge in southern Sweden, the base has close ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well-sheltered location: arc ...
producing rope up to 300 metres in length for the cordage of warships. Although production ceased in 1960, the elaborately designed facility is now open to the public with exhibitions and demonstrations of ropemaking. A similarly scaled facility in
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and communes of France, commune in Southwestern France, a port on the Charente (river), Charente estuary. It is a Subpr ...
, France, called the
Corderie Royale
The ''Corderie Royale International de la mer'' is a vast museum complex located in the heart of the maritime Arsenal de Rochefort. The building built in 1666 has been classified as a historic monument since 1967, and currently a candidate for i ...
, is also maintained as a museum within the
Centre International de la Mer
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
.
In the 18th Century,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Port Mahon
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
, on the island of
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
, both had open-air ropewalks.
In
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in the
Massachusetts Colony
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
, some early rope making businesses were called 'ropewalks'.
Jalan Pintal Tali which is in one of the older, central parts of
George Town, Penang
)
, short_description = Capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of George Town in Penang
, pushpin_map = Penang#Malaysia#Asia#Earth
, pushpin_maps ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, literally means "rope-twisting street".
In
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, a ropewalk appears on municipal maps from as early as the 1860s and operated for at least 40 years. The ropewalk ran to the east of Lansdowne Avenue (formerly Jameson Avenue, then North Lansdowne Avenue). 1884 Insurance Plan shows the factory going from lot 42 at the south end to lot 35 at the north.
[1890 City of Toronto Municipal assessment rolls]
The
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also nickn ...
in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
is now the center of the famous amusement and red-light district
St. Pauli
St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...
.
The Ropewalk in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
passes over
Park Tunnel.
See also
*
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also nickn ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Ropewalks
Chatham Victorian ropery Virginia.
Boston Harbor Map 8Ropewalk: A Cordage Engineer's Journey Through HistoryLa Corderie Royale in Rochefort, France
Ropework
Buildings and structures by type
fr:Corderie