Ropery 1

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."