The History of Ropemaking in Upper Wensleydale
Ropemaking is an ancient craft that spans the whole of human history with ancient civilisations relying on ropes and cords to fish, farm and build. The earliest evidence we have been able to find of rope making in Upper Wensleydale stretches all the way back to the 1700s. Askrigg parish records describe John Brenkley of Setbusk (Sedbusk, near Hawes) as a ropemaker at the time of his death in 1725.
The surviving records of Hawes church include detailed accounts for the years 1726 -1802. Looking at the church's expenditure on bell ropes and related work we found that in 76 years, St Margaret's church bought 39 bell ropes and two ropes for the font and we can even see the prices paid. Cord was purchased on four occasions and in 1757 and 1798 payment was made for hanging and putting up the new bell rope.
"Work done included mending the bell wheel (1/- in 1734), work about the steeple"(11/9d in 1765) and Repairs at Bell and Clapper (2/- in 1800)."
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• 1734 To James Constantine for a Bellroap - 1/2d
• 1761 To Thos. Archer for a Bell Roap - 2/-
• 1775 To Thos. Archer for cording - 2d
• 1781 To Mr. Stubbs a new Bell Rope - 1/9d
These men may have been ropemakers in Hawes and surrounding areas, or merchants who dealt in rope. We don't know much more about them beyond these financial records but we can be confident that all the way back in the 1700s rope was being bought and sold in Upper Wensleydale.
The Wharton Era
Clear evidence of ropemaking in Hawes begins with the household census returns for 1841 in which Thomas Wharton, aged 60 (In the 1841 census ages were rounded off to the nearest five years.), and his sons Richard, 30, and John, 20, are listed as ropemakers. Information in other census returns suggests that it was at least 1830 before the Wharton family moved to Hawes, probably from a neighbouring dale.
The Wharton's ropemaking business was based at the Old Toll Bar, later known as the Gate House, which still exists on the outskirts of Hawes on the road leading to Ingleton. The family, including Thomas's wife Mary and youngest children Thomas, 16, and Mary, 15, may have been toll-keepers as well as ropemakers. The ropewalk ran parallel to the toll-road, allowing passers-by to watch the family at work.
As well as the regular trade at the fortnightly cattle markets, which until 1919 took place in the main street, extra demand for ropes was created during the special fairs in June, September and October, for horses, cattle and tups (rams) respectively. Every rope made required the labour of two people, one to turn the wheel and the other to lay the rope.
By 1851 Thomas had employed a thirteen year old boy, William, as a wheelturner to help John in the manufacturing process. The business also had to support at least four younger members of the Wharton household, including a future ropemaker of the third generation.
Following his father's death in 1852 John (1) took over as head of the household and trained his nephew, John (2), Thomas's grandson, as an assistant ropemaker. Having successfully served his apprenticeship John (2) graduated as a journeyman, making way for another of Thomas's grandsons, John (3), to follow the family tradition. At the age of 14, in 1881, the latter was already an assistant ropemaker, eventually succeeding his father John (1) as proprietor of the business at the age of 28.
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The ropemaking business continued to support John Wharton (3) and his family for a further ten years until, at the age of 38, having spent at least twenty-four years making rope, he `retired' and sold the business in order to pursue his profound interest in specialist poultry breeding. His successor, Mr. W. R. A.Outhwaite, took over the ropemaking concern in 1905.
William Outhwaite (1905-1922)
The Whartons had practised the ropemaking business from its Gate House site on the Ingleton road, and it was here that W. R. Outhwaite made ropes until about 1922. He also had a regular stand in Hawes market where his first Tuesday's trading brought in only 3s.9d (18½p), but the second a more satisfactory £5.
The period of the First World War saw the beginning of the changes which the twentieth century brought to Hawes. Mr. John Blythe of Hawes, who was a young man at this time, describes the war years as a period when "goods and materials were all in short supply. Most of the young and middle-aged men had gone to the forces or to munition work, and community activities were carried on largely by the older people and `teenagers'. The whole emphasis was on keeping things going, not on enterprise and development."
William Outhwaite cont... (1921-1950)
Life was not made any easier in the 1920's when John Wharton decided that the Gate House would eventually be needed for his married son, thus forcing W. R. Outhwaite to find a new site for the ropemaking business. After negotiations with T. T. Iveson, a local land-owner, Mr. Outhwaite acquired Banker's Field, the site of the ropeworks at Town Foot until 2022. This land had the advantage of being on the route between the auction mart and the railway station. The new ropeworks, a wooden shed, was built on this ground and extended nearly as far as the footbridge beside the present building. Longer ropes were made in the field behind the shed but Mr. Iveson imposed the condition that all outdoor ropemaking equipment was to be stored out of sight at the end of each working session.
All through this difficult period - the business moving out of the Gate House in 1922, followed some time later by the family - W. R. Outhwaite continued to trade at the market, but he was convinced that the move to Town Foot would finish the business. The first week's trading was a disaster but trade gradually picked up until in later years he was able to admit that the move had been a blessing in disguise. ​​
W.R Outhwaite & Son (1921-1975)
In spite of a move to more mechanised farming, the manufacture of the ropes and the products for sale were just as they had been thirty years earlier at the Gate House site. Mr. Outhwaite Snr. had devised a self-adjusting rope halter for cattle and horses but, to Tom's regret, it had never been patented. The raw materials for the ropes at this time came from Burnley and the finished products were sent off by rail from the Hawes station.
By now Hawes agricultural merchant, Mr. Alan Irving, was taking rope products to different markets each day of the week, and on Tuesday - market day - the Outhwaites displayed their goods on a stall on the pavement outside the ropeworks. In addition to the ropes there was always a good selection of hay creels, buckets, walking sticks and general farming equipment. In 1952 Tom applied for a grant from the Yorkshire Rural Industries Council. This enabled him to install an electric motor to power the twisting machine, thus replacing the wheelturner and speeding up the manufacture of the ropes without changing the traditional method. "It just does the same work as I've done by hand and I fancy it makes a better job of it," his father remarked of this innovation. Mr. W. R. Outhwaite continued to take an active interest in the business until a short time before his death in 1956 at the age of 81.
Tom Outhwaite was now the Hawes ropemaker although he continued to trade using his father's initials. He soon found out that the business of ropemaking could be very lonely and recalls days on end, particularly in winter, when he had no visitors and no-one to talk to. In 1974 as Tom approached retirement a rare opportunity presented itself, an interview with BBC Nationwide. The video below was broadcast on national television and Tom was inundated with letters of people interested in buying his business from him.
Peter & Ruth Annison (1975 - 2022)
As Tom neared the age of retirement with no obvious successor it seemed that the ropemaking tradition in Hawes, as in so many other places, was doomed. However, two visitors to whom he described the situation, in the summer of 1974, saw that it might provide the opportunity that they had been seeking to move to the area. By the end of the year arrangements had been made for the sale of the business. It was agreed that the firm would continue to trade under the long-established name of W. R. Outhwaite and Son.
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When Tom Outhwaite retired in 1975, the business was bought by two college lecturers, Peter and Ruth Annison. They had no knowledge of the ropemaking process, nor any experience of running a business. For a few months newspapers ran astonishing stories of "drop-out teachers" moving to Wensleydale. In 1977 the BBC visited again and this film was aired shortly afterwards.
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The change of life-style was planned in detail to make good use of their previous joint experience - and especially Peter's specialist knowledge as a textile chemist. And for four months they overlapped with Tom Outhwaite before he retired, learning about ropemaking and the business.
An additional advantage was that Tom, still living nearby, continued to be readily available with advice and practical help after his retirement - and gave both willingly. This was especially important in an agricultural business, for even after the four month changeover period each fresh farming season brought some unfamiliar situation. During this period the new owners found the support and interest of Tom Outhwaite, his wife Mrs. Laura Outhwaite and his sister Miss Mary Outhwaite invaluable.​
The Annison's had great plans for the ropemaking business and began expanding their product ranges and the ropeworks itself. Soon they were producing not just agricultural ropes but dog leads, skipping ropes, bell ropes bannister and barrier ropes. The 400sqft building they had bought was expanded every few years until the land on which the longer ropes was made had been swallowed up by the 5000sqft ropeworks, now employing around 25 people!
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In 1992 land in the adjacent car park was leased and a second building was erected to house the rope walk and dog lead department. Visitors could now walk through the full length of the ropeworks, starting in the shop at the front before viewing the braiding and winding machines and then crossing into the "new building" where the more traditional rope products were still being produced.
2022: A new era
2015 onwards posed the same question of succession to the Annison's as had once faced Tom Outhwaite. The business they had nurtured for four decades was now significantly bigger than the one they had bought and the handover into the next chapter was going to be far more complex than their own.
Over the forty or so years Peter had acquired numerous machines that added surprising capability to the independent rural firm, however there was one machine for which the time had never been right. In 2017 Outhwaites Ltd purchased a continuous ropemaking machine from Denmark drastically increasing the potential production capacity of the ropeworks. Unfortunately Peter passed away before the machine was delivered and never got to see the machine in action.
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By 2022, despite bouncing back from the COVID19 pandemic the question of succession of the business had not been satisfactorily answered, and so Ruth made the difficult decision to announce to the staff that the business would need to close at the end of the year. This announcement prompted a response from two members of staff whose phoenix businesses launched in October 2022; Askrigg Ropemakers and Kefi Textiles.
Kefi Textiles Ltd
Andrew had worked at Outhwaites for 8 years, becoming production manager shortly before the pandemic. He and his wife Heather took the plunge to try and continue as much of Outhwaites as possible. Taking 13 braiding machines, 5 knitting machines and the continuous ropemaking machine they moved 30 miles up the road to Melsonby where Kefi Ropemakers now operates.
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Since the move, Kefi has developed its own traditional ropewalk for making bannister and barrier ropes, launched a pet range supplying dog leads, an online store for rope homeware products and continues to make and sell reels and coils of UK manufactured rope.
Askrigg Ropemakers
Caroline had worked at Outhwaites for around 6 years before the closure, and in 2022 she and her partner Richard took on the agricultural ropes department of Outhwaites that was so important to the Outhwaite family in years gone by.
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Buying coils of rope from Kefi has also allowed Caroline to produce her own dog lead range which she takes to agricultural shows and markets.
