Description and History of Site:-
Former works belonging to British Ropes Limited (later Bridon Ropes).

Many original buildings remain on the site, in some cases with a new frontage. The 1/4 mile long rope walk of 1914 has however been demolished. Buildings (mainly brick construction) and other features still visible include:

Manilla Mill (1914, extended 1937) - parts still retain the original metal flooring
Hemp store (1951) (on the site of the original destroyed in WW2)
Canteen (1915), Rope Store (1927), Boiler House (1930s), Engineer's Shop (1950s)
Buildings associated with polymer rope manufacture (1960s)
Laboratory (1976), Yarn Store (1978)
Narrow gauge tracks from the internal rail system
A section of wall and partially buried rails from the rope walk The rope works was built in 1914 by Frost Brothers Ltd of Commercial Road, Shadwell. Part of the site was commandeered for storage during WW1 and production was limited to spinning yarn for Frost's other site and later to making binder twine. Frost's joined the British Ropes Group around 1925 and the Group focused activities on the Charlton site with full production starting around 1927 followed by further expansion in the 1930s. A wire rope rigging service commenced in 1937 and polymer rope production started in 1960. The Company later became part of the Bridon Group. The site closed in stages between 1980 and 1995, abandoned parts being sold off for other industrial use. The southern third of the site was redeveloped soon after closure and the rest of the site (now run as two separate industrial estates) is likely to be redeveloped in stages from about 2020 as part of the Charlton riverside development.

Further Reading and References:-
Material deposited in the Greenwich Local History Archives, including Company presentations and Open Day programmes.

Two British Pathe films show the works in action:
https://www.britishpathe.com and search for Charlton Rope

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Key Words :- Rope manufacture

Viewing the Site :- within trading estates on east side of Anchor and Hope Lane

Address :- Anchor and Hope Lane, Charlton, London, Greater London
Grid Ref :- TQ 41058 79101
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.493264 , Long 0.030507
Local Authority :- Greenwich London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- London
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site in alternative industrial use
Site Dates :- 1914 - 1995
Record Date :- 19 July 2019

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Andrew Turner