Rope Making: Stretching

Image: This photograph, taken in 1923, shows the ropewalk at Lowe’s ropeworks in Bewdley. Multiple strands of rope stretched are shown stretched along the walk after they were made. The viaduct of the Severn Valley Railway is shown in the background.

[Image from: Bewdley Museum]

Stretching was necessary to maintain the rope’s tension after manufacturing. Subsequently it was coiled before it was sold.