Former Hemp House, Spinning Room And Offices

This is a former hemp store, spinning room, and offices, dating back to 1729. It was originally a single-storey hemp house, significantly widened between 1743 and 1747, then extended to the south and given a first floor in 1812. A mid-19th century engine house was also added. The building is constructed of brick with a slate hipped roof.

The plan follows a rectangular single-depth layout, with an attached engine house and offices to the north. The exterior comprises a 21-bay long range, with a further 2 bays and 1 bay to the south, over a cellar. The main hemp house has overhanging eaves, divided into three sections of 3:1:3 windows on the first floor. The central section is flanked by shallow buttresses and features wide round-arched doorways on the ground floor, with altered 20th century windows above. The ground floor has altered single windows, and the first floor displays segmental-arched casements with 12 panes per sash. The north engine house is constructed with patterned brick and has blank outer bays, with two-storey flat-headed recesses containing 24/24-pane casements.

A lower, narrower 5-bay office, dating to the early 19th century, adjoins the north end. It has overhanging eaves and a central timber porch, with rubbed brick heads over 6/6-pane sash windows.

Internally, the building includes a fire-proof cellar, a match-boarded ground-floor store with posts and masonry walls featuring round arches supporting the upper floor, and timber queen and prince post roof trusses incorporating an attached belt drive for the spinning plant. The former engine house features tall cast-iron columns extending to the beam floor.

Historically, the 1729 hemp house was the sole survivor of the old dockyard, spared from demolition during the late 18th century rebuilding of the ropeyard. It was used for storing raw hemp before it was processed. Mechanized spinning was introduced on the upper floor in the mid-19th century, with a beam engine added in an extension to the north.

The building forms part of the most complete ropery and is one of the largest integrated groups of 18th century industrial buildings in the country, and is also part of a fine and complete group of Georgian dockyard buildings.