Rope Openers

[sallyyorks]

Does anyone know what the occupation "rope opener" is ? . 1851 census at Ormskirk Lancashire (living near a small  rope factory) . Ann Woods age 50 rope opener. Ellen age ? 18   rope opener William age 16  twine spinner John age 13  twiner Alice age 6 scholar .  Other occupations of extended family were flax or hemp dressers  and nail makers. Thinking it might be part of the nearby factory process ?  that they got "roped into"    doing    

[1pds]

This is a pure guess... 

In my Boy Scouts days we spliced ropes.  This involved twisting rope in the opposite direction to its natural twist in order to "open up" the rope and allow strands to be woven into it.  I wonder if this could be the task of a "Rope Opener"?

A more detailed explanation can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_splicing

[sallyyorks]

Hi there 1pds . Thankyou for reply and link . Great  'guess ' ,  i think you are right

[1pds]

You're welcome 

You also mention "twine maker".  Twine was used to "whip" the splices to make sure they didn't come undone and the ends of the ropes become frayed.  See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipping_knot

Gosh, all those evenings in the Scout Hut were useful after all   

[sallyyorks]

Very helpful thankyou