Making
rope and fishing net twine
is one of our oldest trades.
In the mid 19th century there
were at least three rope 'walks'.
One was Jasper Goodwin's whose
walk ran from Spinners Lane
to the marsh across what was
to become the railway track.
The two others were centred
on Henry Oldrings' works in
Cumberland Road. One of his
walks stretched to Field Stile
Road while another, much longer
one, ran past the Church to
North Green. The length of
the walk determined the maximum
length of the rope. The walker
or spinner had to walk backwards
from the spinning wheel, paying
out the hemp fibre from a
large hank wound round his
waist.
Both
Goodwin and Oldring had ceased
trading by the end of the
century but one of their employees
was to become Southwold's
best known rope maker. He
was William Button. When he
died in 1935, aged 90, he
was described as England's
last hand rope maker.
|
