Monument record MDO19979 - Ropewalk, Seymour Place, East Street, Bridport

Site of a former open ropewalk owned by the Seymour family from at least the mid-18th century. It continued in use until the second half of the 19th century. A terrace of workers’ housing was then built along the former spinning ways.

Site of a former open ropewalk. The first mention of a spinning way is in the will of John Seymour (1682-1767), a twinespinner, drawn up in 1763. Amongst the legacies were those to his sons Peter, Edward and Richard, which refer to various properties and spinning ways, all with a pit and well in common. With reference to the Churchwardens Ratebooks of St Mary’s Bridport, these have been identified as being between 80 and 82 East Street, on the site of the present Seymour Place. Twine spinning was continued by various members of the Seymour family until some time between 1861 and 1881 (1).

In the mid-late 19th century a terrace of workers’ housing was constructed in the former walk, presumably after twine spinning had ceased at some time between 1861 and 1881. The terrace is of squat two-storeyed red brick cottages with stuccoed elevations (2). These cottages are Grade II Listed.

No visible sign of the spinning ways now survive.

<1> Seymour, J, 1996, 'Bridport Textile Industry. A Family View' Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries (Article in serial). SDO10519.

<2> Jones, B V, and Williams, M, 2002, Bridport: An Assessment of Townscape & Buildings, 56-57 (Unpublished document). SDO10497.

Record last edited

Aug 30 2024 11:17AM