Theme 1 The Story of the Ropewalk What can we learn about the past from buildings? KS2 History and Geography
The Ropewalk Teaching Notes This investigation looks at the rope factory buildings and the physical environment surrounding them, as evidence of change. Pupils identify how buildings have been changed to respond to changing usage. viewed from Waterside Road. Pupils could take photographs to use in their own work. They should then try and identify which general feature A-F each is an example of. This could form the basis for a guide book page on the despatch building. Objectives Use sources as evidence to deduce what the building was used for in the past Identify evidence of change Identify reasons why the location of the factory Outcomes Work could be used to make a guide book for visitors. Activity 1: What was this building used for in the past? Discuss each of the six clues and encourage pupils to make guesses about what the building might have been used for in the past. Ask pupils to suggest other questions they might want to ask about the building. They can record these on the worksheet. Activity 2: Where is the ropewalk? Give pupils a copy of the detailed map of Barton. As a class identify key places on the map including the Ropewalk, the Humber and the Haven. Pupils should then be able to label their own plans and add a key. Some pupils may be able to find out where Barton is using appropriate resources and mark it onto the map of the UK. Activity 3: What can a building tell us about its past? This activity would ideally follow a visit to the site. During a site visit, ask the pupils to try and spot features 1-6 on the despatch building Activity 4: What can buildings tell us about how a building has changed? How can you tell that these pictures are taken of the same place? Can you work out where they have been taken from? Record the similarities and differences between the pictures on the worksheet. Discuss what it might look like in fifty years time, what natural features will still be there and what, if any, buildings have changed? How might the materials used for buildings have changed? Activity 5: Who was John Hall? Use this information sheet to look at an important individual or to introduce biographical writing. Activity 6: Why was a factory built here? In this task pupils are asked to identify evidence to support the different reasons for building factories. Encourage them to look for key words such as materials, transport and workers. Activity 7: The story of the Ropewalk Cut out the cards and sort them into chronological order. Use the events as a framework for a guide book. Pupils could use photographs or sketches of buildings from their site visit to illustrate the story. 17
What was this building used for in the past? History is about using clues to find out about the past. From the clues on this page, what do you think this building was used for? Clue 1: The building Clue 2: The surroundings Clue 3: Sign on the building Clue 4: An object found inside Clue 5: Objects found inside Clue 6: An old photograph of the inside
Ask more questions about the building What was it used for? It was used for making rope. What other questions might we want to ask about this building to help retell its story? What? What was this building used for in the past? Where? When? How? Who? Why?
Detailed map of the Ropewalk and surrounding area Crown Copyright/database right 20(yy). An Ordnance Survey/EDINA supplied service."
Where is the Ropewalk? Either using a map or when visiting the Ropewalk, see if you can identify and label the ten features on the plan below. Draw on the footpath next to the Ropewalk, leading to Waters Edge Visitor Centre. Give your plan a key to show the rivers, roads and buildings. What could you use to find out where Barton is on the map of the UK?. 1. Ropewalk 2. Proudfoot s supermarket 3. Despatch building 4. Waterside Road 5. Barton Haven 6. Humber 7. Road bridge 8. The ropery mill building 9. Waters Edge Visitor Centre. 10. Footpaths Key Rivers Roads Buildings Footpaths plan features key ropewalk despatch
What can a building tell us about its past? There may be lots of clues on a building to help us find out about its past. Resource sheet 1 shows a photograph of the despatch building. Can you find these things on it: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Below are some things you might find on a building that are clues to when it was built, what it was used for and how it has changed. Each picture is an example of one of the clues. Can you match them up? A Architectural style B Initials The style and design of building features like roofs can give a clue to the period it was built in. A mansard roof has two slopes on each side. This is a common architectural feature of buildings that were built around 1800. Sometimes builders leave their initials or a common mark like a signature on their buildings. Some initials show the company that owned the building. C Alterations D Unusual features Modern bricks, a change in the brick pattern or bricked up windows and doorways can all be evidence that a building has been changed. Unusual features on the outside of a building can give a clue to previous use. A hoist was attached to the outside of dispatch and storage buildings to load barges and lorries. E A keystone F Modern Extensions Keystones are stones at the centre of an archway or above a door or window. Sometimes a date is marked here to show when it was built. New or different bricks used for a section of a building may be evidence of a later extension. Often the architectural style of the old building is copied to make sure the new section fits in with the original building. Keystone extension mansard roof evidence modern original hoist feature alteration architectural style
What can a building tell us about its past?
What can a building tell us about its past?
The Ropewalk The ropewalk is 400 metres or 1/4 mile long. This is where yarns were twisted together to make rope. Pan-tiled roof Bricks and tiles were made in local brickyards. The building had to be long to keep the yarns straight while they were being twisted. Flooding Flood gaps were made to allow water to flow through the building when the Haven waters A ropewalk is the name of the strip of land or building where a rope is made. This ropewalk is now an arts centre. rose. This prevented Waterside Road from flooding. They were bricked up in the 1970s when the embankment was built. Buttresses were built along part of the building as support against flooding.
Picture A 1940s How has the site of the rope works changed over 60 years? Picture B 2007
What can photographs tell us about how a building has changed? Look carefully at the two photographs. They are taken of the same place. Picture A was taken in the 1940s and picture B was taken in 2007. 1. Write down three things that are the same and three things that have changed. Things that are the same Things that have changed 2. Write down 2 things that the buildings are used for in picture A. 1 2 3. Write down two things that the buildings are used for in picture B. 1 2 4. Why do you think the use of the buildings has changed? Write down one reason. 5. Draw a picture of what you think the view will look like in 50years time on the back of this sheet. Think about: which buildings will still be there? How will new buildings be different?
Who was John Hall? Rope making in Barton before 1803 was a cottage industry which meant people worked in their own homes to make rope. Skilled rope makers and weavers used hemp and flax to make rope and sail cloth. The Halls were a family of wealthy merchants and ship-owners from Hull. They bought rope and sail cloth from the workers in Barton for their ships. The Halls began making money by selling the ropes and sail cloth to other ship owners and ship builders. There was a great demand for rope and sail cloth and the workers in Barton could not make enough. The Halls needed a way of producing more rope that was more efficient. Thomas Hall bought a plot of land in Barton and opened a rope factory in 1803. The ownership of the company passed into the hands of his son John Hall within a few years. His initials are on the despatch building which was built in 1807. John Hall The business was very successful under the direction of John Hall despite two fires at the factory in 1806 and 1813. The rope and sail cloth made at the factory was used as rigging on ships that were used in the Napoleonic wars with France. The ropes were also used by Hull ship owners, on whale boats and later on fishing boats. The success of the business enabled John Hall to extend the factory. By 1850 he had introduced steam power and gas lighting to the works. When John Hall died in 1863 at the age of 89, the company was worth between eight and nine thousand pounds. The company made all kinds of ropes and cord that were well known for their high quality. cottage industry merchants factory efficient rigging whale boats
Why was a rope factory built here? There are a number of reasons why there was a rope and sail cloth factory built here. The boxes below contain evidence to support each of these reasons. Find some evidence to support each reason. Colour the key above and colour the matching evidence in the same colour. Reasons 1. It was easy to buy materials for building a factory and for making rope. 2. Ropes could be easily transported to Hull and the rest of the world. 3. There were already skilled workers living in the area. 4. There was a high demand because local industries needed rope. Evidence The Hall family were ship owners in Hull. They bought and sold goods around the world. Hemp and flax were used for rope making and were grown locally around Barton in the 1700s and 1800s. The builder of the rope factory, Thomas Hall, was a rich and successful merchant and ship owner. Ship building and ship owning were important industries in Hull. Rope was used for rigging on ships. There were hemp and flax dressers, spinners and sail makers working from home in Barton by the late 18 th century. In the early nineteenth century, bricks and tiles were made in Barton. In the early 1800s, small boats could sail down the Haven They transported goods across the Humber to Hull. John Hall, who owned the factory after his father Thomas, had links with Russia where hemp was grown cheaply. Transport in the early nineteenth century was difficult by road Travel on water was quicker and easier.
The story of the Ropewalk The original ropewalk was built around 1803. Due to damage by two fires and constant flood damage, parts of the building have been rebuilt a number of times. The story of a building can be presented as a timeline. Cut out the cards and sort the events in the building s history into chronological order. Use drawings or photographs to illustrate each event. A B C In 1921, the Humber burst its banks. The flood destroyed most of the ropewalk building. It was rebuilt in 1922. Before 1800, ropes and sails were made in Barton by people working in their own homes. In 2006, the despatch building was converted into a health spa. D E F In 1992, a supermarket and car park were built on the site of the old factory. The ropewalk building opened as an arts centre in 2000. It had been retiled and renovated. In 1989, the rope factory closed. Many of the buildings were demolished. G H I In 1803, Thomas Hall built a rope factory in Barton. He passed it into the hands of his son John Hall. In 1975, a flood bank was built which protected the rope factory from flooding of the Haven. The flood gaps were bricked. In 1806, there was a fire at the factory. In 1807 the dispatch building was rebuilt. timeline chronological flood bank flood gaps renovated converted demolished