Rope used to be made by walking backwards (sample). Spinners tied the fibres to a wheel at one end of a long shed and walked away from it, twisting as they went.
A ship’s rope had to be one piece, so the shed had to be as long as the rope. Ours made ropes of up to 90 metres, which is why the floor runs 96 metres from the front door to the meeting rooms.
You can still see the iron rings for the spinning wheels in the floor by the front desk.