The Ropery in Grimsby ~ A look at the History
The Ropery in Grimsby were located, I believe, near Riby Square but both to my surprise and annoyance I’m really struggling with my research into the history of this place.
Well it’s not even the history, anything really !
I’ve been rifling through all my local history books, so far to no avail. There is a picture, same as the one below, included in The Rise of Grimsby By bob Lincoln but I have failed to find mention of The Ropery.
There’s no index of course so it means manually searching so I may well have missed something.
A ropery is, you’ll be unsurprised to hear, a place that manufactures rope and the like. My presumption is that the building below is related to that process especially given the town is a port. One presumes given the nature of the process the buildings required may well elongated by necessity.
This one is but it doesn’t look very industrial does it ?
In 1839 a survey of what was in the town listed this:
a large ropery for making patent cordage of phormium tenax, which has not been very successful
I’ve been looking to find the exact location on the 1840 street map, like the portion sent to me by Neville covering the area in town around St Mary’s Church but guess what a Google search turns up . . .
Me at #1 
If only I had £1 for every time I keep turning up when I’m trying to research something I’d be rich not only in financial terms but also in knowledge of Lincolnshire history !
Thus far I’ve found a court roll snippet mention a resident of ‘the Ropery’ but I’m not even sure if this is relevant.
There is also a Ropery Street in Grimsby, still extant but is it connected in any way to this building, scant information on locations suggest perhaps not but . . .
22nd August 1856 Thomas POXON of the Ropery, Grimsby remanded from the 5th inst was brought up from the lock-up charged with stealing 86 yards of sheep netting, the property of John LOCKING of Clee. Found guilty on trial and sentenced under the new Criminal Justice Act to 14 days imprisonment and hard labour in the House of Correction at Louth.
As you have no doubt already concluded this is a mish-mash of an article and hasn’t gone quite the way I expected so given that it will have to serve as a stub for future research and the hope that more information will come to light.
It’s surely out there somewhere and hopeful a combined effort on my part and our regular contributors may flesh this out a little more in comment form below.
To that end can you help ? If so then please do leave a comment, any information, theories or opinions greatly welcomed
All the best
A Frustrated Rod
History Hunter said,
June 1, 2010 @ 10:17 pm
Hmmmm………this one has thrown me! As you said, the position of the Ropery would, in theory, be on, or close to the dock area, but i have found vague details that there was a ropery on Ropery Street. Now whether it was the one in question is something that i shall look into further. The date suggests that it was later than the buildings you are looking for, but prior to Grimsby Cordage Company (see below) On looking at your picture you have of the Ropery Houses, the buildings look to be far too long to fit into the modern day extremities of Ropery Street. So more likely not to be the same place.
Ropery Street has a junction with Ladysmith Road. At the back of Ladysmith Road was Grimsby Cordage Company which was only built in 1899. Built by the Cosalt Co, their other concerns in town were the Net Workshop opposite the Victor Street Fisher Lads Home and Orphanage, and the Waterproof Clothing Company in Robinson Street
Rod said,
June 2, 2010 @ 6:33 am
Some snippets from The Real Mr Collins
“Was in Riby Square Street running back of Cleethorpe Road. Popery building made of metal cladding. Used later by Consolidated Fisheries for heavy trawling workshop.
There was a ropery in Convamore Road area - housing development then in early 1900’s.
The roperies were long, simple buildings.
Less use for rope as sail boats were scrapped and wire and chain cable became cheaper and were more reliable”.
Rod said,
June 2, 2010 @ 6:35 am
HH,
Ropery Street looks like a Red Herring if you’ll forgive the fishing pun - there must be reason for the name though
Best
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 2, 2010 @ 6:46 am
Sent in this morning by Neville
Amiguru said,
June 2, 2010 @ 10:44 am
Rod,
I agree with HH’s comment re Ropery Street and will follow that one up in due course.
The above map is dated 1848 and shows a long building which I suspect was the ropery. It was on the site, in part, of the current car park facing onto Orwell Street. Just for comparison, the ropery at Barton is 323m or 353 yards long and the above building is as far as I can calculate 296m or 324 yards. That similarity in length of the two buildings is somewhat convincing in my opinion.
Incidentally, if anyone is in the vicinity of Barton, the ropeworks is now a museum and well worth a visit.
Regards,
Neville
Amiguru said,
June 2, 2010 @ 7:34 pm
Rod,
By 1887 the building located south of Orwell St. had been closed down and there was a new location near No. 2 Fish Dock and Graving Dock and is identified as ‘Rope Walk’ in the accompanying image.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
June 2, 2010 @ 7:37 pm
Neville,
great stuff - there is a pub called The Ropewalk I believe just off Hainton Ave
Best
Rod
History Hunter said,
June 3, 2010 @ 1:23 am
Yes the Ropewalk is/was on Heneage Road, but i believe it has become yet another statistic as one of the many pubs that have ceased trading.
Linda & Peter said,
June 6, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
Below are a couple of Victorian references to the Ropery. Captain Harris is well worth further investigation, a google books search returns a lot of information….
From: Lincolnshire in 1836, John Saunders. (Bodleian Library & on Google.)
The town is likely to derive great benefit through the exertions of Captain Harris, R. N., who, after having to overcome great difficulties, erected a range of buildings for the manufacture of New Zealand flax into sail-cloth, cordage, &c.: indeed, the flax is adapted for every fabric, from the abovementioned articles to the finest cambric. Experiments in Woolwich dock-yard have proved the superior strength and durability of this flax to every other kind, whilst it can be supplied at half the cost. Every article the company fabricate they can render water-proof, an invaluable requisite for sailors’ clothing, &c. The buildings in which this and the other concerns are carried on, have a very imposing appearance. There are here the Colonial Ropery and the Metallic Ropery. This last is for the manufacture of metallic ropes for the rigging of vessels. This new article is the invention of Mr. A. Smith, engineer, of London.
From: The Gentlemans Magazine, February 1831
May 5.—The first stone for a series of buildings for a manufactory of rope and canvas from the Tharmium Tenor, was laid in the new Ropery Ground on Grimsby Race Course. The main building will be eleven hundred and forty feet in length, and thirtythree feet broad, one end of which will contain a powerful steam engine, and the other will be appropriated as a storehouse for the raw material. The manufactory is designed on a scale of sufficient magnitude to employ two or three hundred workmen. In an address to the people assembled on this occasion, Captain Harris stated that he had taken out patents in France and Holland for the manufacture of the same article in those countries, and declared that he intended his principal station to be at Grimsby.
Linda & Peter said,
June 6, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
Another reference to the Ropery and to the race-course…
FROM: A topographical dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, 1850.
“A very extensive establishment for the manufacture of rope and canvass was erected on the race-course near the Humber, a few years since, by the late Captain Harris, R. N.”
Rod said,
June 6, 2010 @ 4:08 pm
Linda & Peter,
fabulous comment - many thanks and welcome to the site.
That’s very interesting indeed and worthy of further investiagtion.
I note also a point which may catch Nevilles’s eye in relation to one of his maps
Grimsby Race Course
Thanks again L&P brilliant information
All the best
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 6, 2010 @ 5:12 pm
Rod, Linda & Peter,
You know me too well Rod; if you are Goldeneye then I might be known as Hawkeye
.
There are several maps which illustrate this one as both the racecourse or the ropery if you would like an upload. This particular ropery on the racecourse, (which was, strictly speaking, in Victorian times, in Cleethorpes), was on the plot surrounded in those days by Stirling Street, Thorold Street, Mangle Street and Rutland Street. According to Streetview, it is now occupied by the DLR Motors and Unipart.
The OS Reference for the centre of the ropery is: TA 28574 10322.
Regards,
Neville
Linda & Peter said,
June 7, 2010 @ 8:02 pm
We are novices at this so please bear with us… Some questions..
-1. Your thoughts are that the ropery engraving pictured at the top of this page was in the area betwen Orwell Street and Riby Street rather than the one established by Captain Harris further along the way to Cleethorpes ?
-2 To the base of your engraving pictured at the top of this page is the name Skelton. Is this the William Skelton who was postmaster / publisher / freeman. ?.
-3. I have seen references, in “A Gossip about Old Grimsby” by Anderson Bates, an 1893 reprint of an earlier work , … to a Mr Brandstrom and his approved plan for a ropery between King Street and Riby Street area, this ropery was not built due to lack of supporting funds and the land was cultivated as gardens. Which ropery was this ? (I have images of the relevant page from the book if needed).
Amiguru said,
June 7, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
Linda & Peter,
I’m sure Rod will give detailed information in the morning regarding his OP picture and I think you will find that the artist was the well known George Skelton.
I have searched the 1887 map of Grimsby and found four roperies extant at that time. I list their respective locations below:
1. In the plot embraced by Albion St./ Charles St./ Albert St./ Bath St.
2. Between the railway and No. 2 Fish Dock. (See illustration above).
3. Beween Riby Street and the railway opposite Riby Square, next to Worsley Buildings.
4. In the plot embraced by Stirling St./Mangle St./ Thorold St./ Rutland St. (mentioned above)
Of course we have to bear in mind that streets appear and disappear or are curtailed or re-routed in the intervening years. For instance, looking at Google Earth; Mangle street is chopped in half and is un-named. Stirling St. then is Thorold St. now. Thorold St. then is Stirling St. now; and Rutland St. now stops at Cleethorpes Rd!
For No. 1 above only Albion St. and a bit of Albert St. are still there.
Hope all this helps to unravel this ropey problem. I rather suspect it complicates it.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
June 8, 2010 @ 7:04 am
Linda & Peter
We are novices at this so please bear with us… Some questions
Join the club, there is somuch unknown about the history in Lincolnshire it’s incredible, that’s on eof the reasons we’re trying to piece things together here.
As Neville mentions it is George Skelton and he did a number of interesting illustrations and I’ll be featuring all of them in due course.
The problem with the ropery issue for me when I started with it was that given the long-standing status of a commercial port the Grimsby would have been in the market for rope for centuries. Presumably people would have seen the opportunity to make rope in the town to cater for the demand and any place that makes rope is in theory a ropery - so when we find mention of one - which one was it and what can we determine about the specific one above.
Neville’s information is superb and the challenge is to add to that summary of where we stand
That’s the game which remains, as yet, very much affoot !
Regards
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 8, 2010 @ 12:55 pm
Rod,
“There’s no index of course so it means manually searching so I may well have missed something.”
I quite agree, except that there is an index of sorts after the list of illustrations, however it is so brief it may as well not be there. For the publishers to have created an index would, in itself , have been a mammoth task, given Bob’s style. As you know, there are only rudiments of organisation in what he writes, which leads me to believe that the book may well consist of articles he had written originally for the local paper and then were cobbled together into the book.
Having said all that, and allowing for his element of romance with some facts, and reading between the lines of his self-aggrandisement, we must be extremely grateful for what he did record as it would otherwise all be lost. In an ironic way, it is similar to our present aims in recording information, facts and anecdotes for future generations, with the exception that our efforts are intended to be as reliable as possible while seeking neither fame nor fortune.
As you probably expected Rod, I have been ‘browsing’ my copy of Lincoln’s work and have come up with a few relevant snippets. On page 67 of volume II for the year 1876 he states, (and I quote absolutely verbatim):
“On November 21st of that year, the birthday of the General Manager [of the Coal Salt & Tanning Company] it was decided to enter into the rope business, and for this purpose the Secretary proceeded to Port Glasgow and arranged for the Agency of the Gourock Ropework Company. A month after this , the building which is at present [1913] known as the Old Head Quarters was built adjoining the coalyard.”
The Grimsby Coal Salt and Tanning Company was arguably the most dynamic company of that era with a great diversity of ‘fingers in pies’ and I note from their wholepage advert at the front of the book their telephone number was “No. 1 Grimsby”.
Another Snippet to follow later regarding Captain Harris’ establishment.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
June 8, 2010 @ 1:03 pm
Neville,
I quite agree about good old Bob - it’s great to have but it would be better if fact were slightly more discernable from opinion;)
That said, I finished reading a modern non-fiction book last week that was breathtaking in the liberties it took in making ’statements of fact’
Best
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 8, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
Rod, Linda, Peter, Uncle Tom Cobley
More quote from Bob Lincoln’s The Rise of Grimsby, this time Vol. I, p. 195:
“In the year 1831, when Grimsby was rapidly becoming an echo of the past in a commercial point of view, George Harris, one of the members for the Borough, decided to make an effort to establish a cordage factory, (photo of houses, Riby Square in book), the rope to be made of the fibres of bog lily, and he imagined that, being a Post Captain of the Navy, his influence would be quite sufficient to endure the patronage of the Government. With this idea in view he leased from the Grimsby Corporation for 99 years, at a rental of £60……….It extended from where Riby Square is to practically the Humber Hotel, and in the zenith of its prosperity, employed a large number of hands, but unfortunately, …..the one and only industry of any note in the Borough became extinct, and eventually the mortgages foreclosed with the usual result.”
This obviously confirms that this is the ropery shown in the 1848 map above. Right location, right period. The Humber Hotel referred to is now known as simply ‘The Humber’ I believe, and is still in situ. I suspect that the projecting front in the 1848 plan is the same one on the far left of Rod’s image and if the whole building had been included by Skelton, the frontage would have stepped back in again for a little.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
June 9, 2010 @ 6:38 am
Neville,
well played sir !
That’s nailed that one down, I’ve also mor ethan a little personal experience of ‘The Humber’ pub !
If it stretched roughly from Riby Square to the Humber pub then it was a huge facility - that really is some way Neville
Fascinating and a superb find
Thanks and regards
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 9, 2010 @ 10:32 am
Rod,
Just one small end to tie up on this particular OP. In my hardcopy of the picture, there is slightly more of it to the right but the reproduction is poorer so that the wording on the right-hand building is just a blur. Did you crop it slightly, and if so can you decipher the rest of it? I t appears to say ‘New’ something and if it can be discerned, then further research might add more confirmation to this identification.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
June 9, 2010 @ 6:31 pm
Neville,
I didn’t crop it, the picture is scanned from a postcard - they were issued by the Doughty Museum or something like some years ago I believe - I only had them on loan to scan so no longer have them I’m afraid.
Best
Rod
Amiguru said,
June 9, 2010 @ 9:05 pm
Rod,
OK thanks, worth a try. I’m going to declare therefore that it says ‘Newcastle Brown’ , Haway the lads!!!
Inebriately yours,
Neville
History Hunter said,
June 10, 2010 @ 11:54 am
Maybe with the positioning of the said building, the ‘New’ could be New Clee, as he proximity to New Clee station is not very far from there. I dont ever recall New Clee being mentioned as a part of Grimsby though, unless its one of those that has disolved into the East marsh area?
Other ‘New’s it could be are
New Clear Bunker (hideaway)
Newton and Ridley (Brewery)
New Money for Old Rope (pawn shop)
Angus Townley said,
September 8, 2010 @ 10:03 pm
Hi,
I read the following on a newsgroup in a thread that was focussed on wire ropes and this suggests that Captain Harris started to manufacture wire ropes in 1835 - has any one found evidence for the wire rope works ?
Small wire ropes made up into a rope are known as far back as ancient
Egyptian times, and was then invented by the German mining
engineer Wilhelm Albert
in the years between 1831
and 1834 for use in mining in the Harz
Mountains in Clausthal
, Lower Saxony
, Germany
. In the early 19th century, it
became practical to manufacture wire cable, and it was soon widely used
for suspension bridges and ship rigging. A character, George Binks
introduced the idea of wire rope ships rigging, as it was lighter and
stronger. He convinced the Royal Navy in 1835, and with George Harris, a
small plant was set up in Grimsby. They were soon joined by Andrew
Smith, and patented the idea. The early ropes were very hand made, but
the procedures were well established by 1840 in Germany, Sweden and England.
Rod said,
September 9, 2010 @ 7:54 am
Angus,
thanks foer the comment and welcome to the site.
I’ve not come across any yet myself but if I or others do then we’ll be sure to get it on here
All the best
Rod
History Hunter said,
September 9, 2010 @ 7:32 pm
One thing I found raised my eyebrows whilst reading about Jar Jar Binks, or whatever his name was, was the fact that it says that wire rope was first used in Clinthorpe, in Lincolnshire. Yes you read it correctly C L I N T H O R P E
(I’ve had to put spaces between the capital letters as putting a capital L and a capital I next to each other makes it look like a U, and you know the rest!)
Now do we have another Helby on our hands? Ive never heard of the place, nor is there any mention of it on the Interwebnet, but as we know, that means nothing.
But thinking of possible spelling mistakes, could it be SCUNTHORPE? After all, as previously mentioned, the L and I could form the shape of a U.
Amiguru said,
September 9, 2010 @ 9:06 pm
HH,
I would lay my first bet on it being Cleethorpes. I can see your logic but the source to which I think you refer says that it was first used by seamen at Clinthorpe; not many seamen knocking around in Scunthorpe in the early 19th. C.
Regarding Helby, I have a couple more up my sleeve so watch out for them.
Regards,
Neville
History Hunter said,
September 9, 2010 @ 10:46 pm
Fishermen Nev, fishermen! And where there is water there are fishermen. The River Trent is not too far away.
BUT to be honest i also presume it meant Cleethorpes, but its quite a strange spelling mistake
Amiguru said,
September 9, 2010 @ 10:51 pm
HH,
Yesssss…..would be a bit difficult casting for trout with a steel hawser on your reel
Ion
Brian Ashwell said,
September 15, 2010 @ 12:16 am
I have Harris’s 1836 freehold and leasehold agreement 6 with John Hood,including a diagram showing the 1300ft building.Its a huge document and contains both signatures ans seals.
Rod said,
September 15, 2010 @ 8:14 am
Brian,
thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated and welcome to the site.
Sounds fascinating - what a thing to have, any information you have on The Ropery we’d all love to hear
Regards
Rod
Polly said,
March 27, 2011 @ 6:54 pm
Hi Rod
I was brought up in Grimsby and remember a rope works being on a plot of land between Convamore Rd and Heneage Rd.I passed it everyday for all of my school life, in the 1950s!
If you Google map one of these streets you’ll see, still on the same site, several long buildings that could possibly be the former ropery. This land belonged to Coal Salt & Tanning Co. which later became CoSalt caravans and until the factory closed caravans were built on this same site. It would appear that there are also some derelict buildings that could also be ropery sheds.
Ropery Street runs from Ladysmith Rd to Convamore Rd, to the entrance of the Ropeworks. This can be seen on Google Maps street view. The Ropewalk pub is on Heneage Rd backing onto the CoSalt site and can also be seen on Google Maps.
This part of Grimsby is on the land formerly owned by Alexander William Grant Thorold, of Weelsby House which ran from the docks to Weelsby and was known as Clee with Weelsby. This explains the street names in the area, ie. Thorold St Weelsby St etc.
Regarding New Clee, if one looks on Wikipedia, reference Old Clee, Grimsby, a full explanation of it’s origins can be found there.
Hope this helps
Regards Polly
Rod said,
March 27, 2011 @ 7:43 pm
Hi Polly,
thanks for taking the time to leave such an interesting comment - it’s really appreciated and a warm welcome to the site
Kind regards
Rod
History Hunter said,
March 28, 2011 @ 1:36 am
If GE is to be used, then have a look on Street View between numbers 332 and 334 Convamore Road and there you will see one of the original entrances to the Grimsby Cordage Company still standing as an external wall behind the houses. A couple of the original buildings burned down a number of years back and on the aerial photo you can see an area over 140 metres long, now derelict, in between two remaining buildings at either end. All of the 3 buildings together reached for over 200 metres, plenty big enough to make the long sections of rope. Other buildings on the rest of the site are pretty large too but the largest one ONLY measures about 130 metres in length, so maybe that was also used for the manufacture of long sections of rope.
GEMMA CARTER said,
December 6, 2011 @ 10:41 am
HI THERE.
I WAS JUST LOOKING ONLINE FOR AN AIRIEL VIEW OF COSALT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE IN GRIMSBY WICH ON THE LAND IS THE OLD ROPE WALK FACTORY. OUR FAMILY HAVE JUST PURCHASED THE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE. IS THIS THE PLACE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ??
GEMMA