Originally the area was known for rope making: Ed Browett, a ropemaker, employed over twenty five men at number’s 23-25 Willow Bridge Street.
In 1864, George Horsepool applied for a licence at the now named Ropemakers Arms. In August 1867, landlord was found guilty of serving after hours.
A quick turnover of landlords then took place. By 1870, John Orton was licensee: he fell to the same offence of serving after hours – charge £1 fine. 1872, Robert Smith. 1873, Henry Harris. 1875, John Stanley. 1877, John Veasey. 1880, Phillip (Henry) Richards.
One day, Richards was working at the rear when he saw William Addison coming out of the brewhouse with something under his jacket. Suspecting Addison had raided his hens which roosted in the brewhouse (bet that flavoured the beer). Richards challenged Addison – finding a dead hen, still warm, under his arm. Richards sent for the police. Addison claimed he was a brewer, so his interest took him to Ropemakers brewery to look around, where he found a dead fowl on the brewery floor. This didn’t wash with the bench. Addison received two weeks’ hard labour.
During Richards’ time the pub was up for sale in 1884, but he would be at the Ropemakers for most of the decade. George Lewin, 1890. 1897, Edna Ross. 1899, Richard Wright.
In February 1899, George Beswick – whose wife worked at the Ropemakers – called to see her in a distressed state, saying he didn’t feel well. He produced a packet of green powder, mixed it with water, and against his wife’s wishes he drank the liquid, lying down on the sofa whilst declaring that he felt really ill. Landlady Mrs Wright asked him where he got the powder ‘Wharf Street – it cost 6d’ was the reply. Beswick began to shake and twitch all over, went into a fit and died there and then. The landlady searched his pockets finding a paper labelled ‘Vermin Killer – Poison’. The jury at the inquest returned the verdict, ‘suicide whilst temporary insane’.
Ropemakers, licence long gone. The Ropemakers was forwarded for closure under the compensation scheme May 1906 – Fred Dury, the licensee. Two months earlier the Ropemakers skittle team were in the final of the skittle league, losing out to the Queen Victoria.
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