Ropewalk Museum News

November 2012

The Museum at The Ropewalk in Barton upon Humber has just gained officially “Accreditated” by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

The Museum at the Maltkiln Road venue pays tribute to the history of the rope making factory and its workers. Hall’s Barton Ropery, including the characterisitic “walk”  was built sometime between 1800 and 1803 although the date traditionally given for the foundation of Hall’s Ropery is 1767 when it is probable that William Hall moved into the business of rope making.

Housed in the Grade II listed building which stretches a quarter of a mile along the length of Barton Haven, the Museum Corridor houses displays, artefacts and other memorabilia telling the history of the factory and its workforce.

“Some of the artefacts were rescued when Hall’s Barton Ropery closed for the final time in 1989 while others were donated by former employees and their families at the time of a Heritage Lottery Fund project which chronicled the history of the factory and its workers through more than 200 years of its history in two books, Unravelling Barton Ropery and Family Ties,” said The Ropewalk’s Managing Director, Liz Bennet.

“Everyone connected with The Ropewalk is delighted that our museum has been able to meet the nationally agreed standards set by the MLA’s Museum Accreditation Scheme,” she continued.

“Much hard work was undertaken prior to our submission and thanks to the support and help of our Curatorial Advisor, Madi Grout, the area’s Museum Development Officer, Jaane Rowehl and the MLA’s Regional Accreditation Officer Robin McDermott we now meet the MLA’s criteria for running a museum and looking after both our collection and our visitors.”

“Now that we have been awarded Accreditation we have been spurred on to develop an archive and research area next year if we are successful with a Heritage Lottery Fund bid,” Liz added.

And Andrew Motion, Chair of the MLA said:  “Being awarded Accreditation is an impressive achievement.  It recognises the high standard and service that The Ropewalk Museum provides and acknowledges the hard work of its staff.”

May 2011

The Ropewalk Museum in Barton upon Humber has just been awarded a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund which will see all of its archives documented, catalogued and published online.

Ropewalk Managing Director Liz Bennet said she was delighted that the bid had been successful as it would ensure far better access to the collection than was presently available.

“At the moment we lack the necessary facilities to allow visitors or researches access our archives which we hope to expand and at the same time raise our profile even further since the Museum received Accreditation Status from the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council, “she said.

“It was while we were applying for Accreditation that we reviewed our collections and archives and decided that if possible the way forward would be to appoint, if funding was available, a Project Officer on a fixed term contract to enable far greater access to our collections,” Liz continued.

“Thanks to the HLF this is now possible and we will be dedicating an area of The Ropewalk  as a research area as well cataloguing the collection and then facilitating the use of the archives and collection through a publically accessible website.”

“This will be a very exciting opportunity to ensure that the history of The Ropewalk and its workforce is accessible to as many people as possible and it will build on a previous HLF grant which saw the publication of two books, Ropeworks and Family Ties.”

The Ropewalk is one of the very few surviving and the only publically accessible historic building which documents Barton’s significant industrial heritage.  Dating back to 1767 Hall’s Barton Ropery provided employment for generations of families.

“Even though it closed its doors for the final time in December 1989 The Ropewalk continues to be a powerful symbol of the industrial roots of the town,” Liz went on

View the videos of the story of Hall’s Barton Ropery.