Dundee Rope Works Tar House, 11 Step Row, Dundee

The Dundee Rope Works Tar House, dating to around 1815-1820, is a two-storey building connected to the historic Dundee Ropeworks. Constructed of rubble, it represents industrial vernacular architecture.

The east gable features a large ground floor doorway with a steel lintel – originally segmental arched – and a small window to the side. The first floor has a loading door and a sash and case window. An attic opening provided access for a timber hoist with a pulley, and rings suggest the presence of a flagpole. The gable is topped with skew putts and a flat-topped finial. The west gable is similar, with a blocked segmental arch and an attic hoist opening.

The south elevation includes two ground floor doors, two windows, and two wide segmental arched openings, some of which are now partially blocked. The first floor features eight 12-pane sash and case windows, one of which has been altered to accommodate an overhead gangway. The north elevation displays three ground floor and seven blocked first floor windows. The bases of three wallhead stacks, likely used for boiling tar, are still visible.

The building has historically been linked to the Dundee Rope Works of A and H Buick. While a section of Bell’s Rope Walk survives with a corrugated-iron roof, it is not included in this listing. The main portion of the Dundee Rope Works has been demolished. Records from Woods' 1821 map identify the structure as “Tar Work Mr Bell,” and further details can be found in local directories.