Rope Walk

As so often happens while looking for one thing I turn up something else. I was checking something on the 1887 map and noticed 'Rope Walk' mentioned on Victoria Street Newton, I recalled also seeing this near Floweyfield, it got me to wondering why. 

It seems that a rope-walk was a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material were laid before being twisted into rope. 

One inch rope required 72 strands of ‘binder twine’, so for 100ft of 1 inch rope, 7.200ft of twine was needed. That sounds like a lot of twisting and work.

Hand spinning was a skilled job, the spinner had to walk at just the right speed to keep the yarn smooth and make sure it was the correct thickness.

 The rope made locally could possibly have been sold to farmers, mine and mill owners, hopefully a bit was left over for granny to have some fun

   

H. Finch... Wheelwright Shoeing and Smith

The beautiful sign-writing on the gates tells us this is H. Finch, resident of 36 Grafton Street. If you know of any other Blacksmiths, Wheelwrights or Farriers from around Hyde let us know...any more pictures would of course be gratefully received. I have always liked the idea of a local blacksmith and would have been drawn to their yard as a child. My old school friend Jack Hilton is a farrier and makes his living shoeing horses. When he left school he went away to serve his apprenticeship... it was one of the longest apprenticeships there was. 

Just over Broomstair Bridge is an engineers yard... I have known the chap there for quite a while and worked at the yard on and off in the past... more for something to do than anything else... at one time in the yard ... right at the back covered in some brambles I was clearing I came across an anvil... much the same as the one above... but this one had a cast iron stand.. I asked John if I could have it... he said yes if I could pick it up and carry it to my old land rover... ha! I could not budge it.. never mind carry it. John had all the tools that went with such a thing... all hand made by his father.