Helen Stephenson's Chatham Dockyard Pictures - September 10th, 2006 - Ropemaking Tour

When we went on the guided tour of the ropemaking galleries, I concentrated on photographing the numerous waxwork figures demonstrating the old reopmarking skills and some of the life that went with them, so the next page is mainly portraits.

There are a couple of rather gory ones coming up now - including the next two pictures of a rather terminal use to which rope is put; and the two on the left on the following line, which are illustrating a workplace accident, or maybe the result of an altercation.

Here I've reverted to photographing the ropemaking process in more modern times when large amounts of fibre are consumed by machines.

I've finished off with the wheeled trolley to which the end of the rope is joined. As it gets twisted ever tighter and the rope gets shorter, the trolley moves.