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.

Ropewalks historically were harsh sweatshops, and frequently caught fire, as hemp dust ignites easily and burns fiercely. Rope was essential in sailing ships and the standard length for a British Naval Rope was 1000 ft (305 m). A sailing ship such as HMS Victory required over 20 miles (32 km) of rope.

Examples

Downtown Liverpool's bohemian Ropewalks district takes its name from this practice and consists of the lanes where this work once took place.

The ropewalk at Chatham Dockyard (as part of the Ropery or Ropehouse) is still producing rope commercially and has an internal length of 1,135 ft (346 m). 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 20-inch (circumference) cable laid rope. The rope walk is used to form and close the rope, these being the final stages in rope making. Before this the raw hemp, manila hemp or sisal has to be hatchelled, spun into yarn, and tarred.

Ropewalk (Karlskrona)

The Ropewalk (Swedish: Repslagarbanan) is a building on the island of Lindholmen in southeastern Sweden. It is located within the naval base in Karlskrona. Dating from 1692, the rope factory terminated production in 1960 but in 2006, after renovation, it was opened to the public with exhibitions and demonstrations of ropemaking. With a length of some 300 metres (980 ft), the Ropewalk is Sweden's longest wooden building.

History

Construction of the two-storey ropewalk began in November 1692 leading to the start of production the following year and reaching full capacity in 1696. As Stockholm's rope factory had burnt down in 1676, the Lindholmen factory was the country's only royal rope factory. By 1726, there were 75 employees at the works, assisted each day by up to 250 hands from the naval base. From 1793, thanks to Joseph Huddart's patented approach, it was possible to produce much stronger rope. But despite attempts by former naval officer Fredrik Henrik af Chapman to adopt the system in Karlskrona, the machine designed by one of his engineers proved a failure and it was not until 1832 that the Huddart approach was finally successful in Sweden. That same year, a steam engine was purchased to drive Lindholmen's equipment. Later in the 19th century, rails were laid for a traction engine and windows were added. In 1928, electricity was introduced allowing new machinery to be installed. New tar houses were built in brick, and ropeway walls were built on the eastern and northern sides. Between 1946 and 1957, all the machinery was replaced with a resulting increase in production enabled by the introduction of synthetic materials. Staffing was reduced until the final team consisted of just seven men. The last stretch of rope was produced on 30 December 1960. Until 1960, when production ceased, it was the only factory producing mooring ropes and cordage for the navy's warships although its products were also sold on the civilian market.

Ropewalk (album)

Ropewalk is the fifth studio album by Scottish indie rock band the View. It was released on September 4th, 2015, through Cooking Vinyl. The album was produced by Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes, and Gus Oberg, producer for the same band. Drew McConnell of Babyshambles introduced Kyle Falconer to the duo. The band chose to record the album at Clouds Hill studios, in Hamburg, Germany. Justin Gerrish, famous for his work with Vampire Weekend, produced the final mix in New York City.

Reception

Ropewalk received favourable reviews from critics. Metacritic gave the album a score of 74 out of 100, based on 4 critic reviews.The NME gave it an 8/10 score on their review, saying: "While the barometer of public taste has shifted from the days when working class boys-with-guitars were rife, you have to applaud The View for updating their legacy without resorting to déjà-View or an EDM chart-landgrab."

Track Listing

Personnel

References