MJ Maccardini (trailerfullofpix)'s photos with the keyword: ropewalk

Empty and shining in the Sunday afternoon sun. I love the worn steps of this old warehouse. Look how the middle one has been patched to make it level again.

Graffiti in the Ropewalks district.

Just off Wolstenholme Square in the Ropewalks District. There are still tons of warehouses in the area, though they are no longer used for goods coming from or going to the docks. In the 18th century, the various suppliers to the shipbuilding industry were based here, including rope makers. The rope was measured by "walking" it down the narrow streets here, with different streets for the different lengths to which the rope was cut.

The round, black metal thing on the right is called the traveler. As the rope is wound, the traveler moves down the tracks as the rope shortens.

These wooden things are called tops. The ropehouse is 1/4 mile long. They've been making rope here in essentially the same way for 400 years. Wikipedia says, "The Double Rope House has spinning on the upper floors and ropemaking ( a ropewalk) on the ground floor. It is 346 m (1135 ft) long, and when constructed was the longest brickbuilt building in Europe capable of laying a 1,000 ft (300 m) rope. Over 200 men were required before 1836, to make and lay a 20in (circumference) cable. All was done by hand. Steam power in the form of a beam engine was introduced in 1836, and then electricity in the early 1900s."