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Wright's Rope Works

Here's my grandfather's long service certificate. He joined Wright's sometime around 1900, having just come over from Dublin with the rest of his family. I think he was awarded the certificate when he was 65 but I'm pretty sure he carried on working there well into his 70s. His brother Dick also worked at Wright's. I have a photo of them which I will post when I find it.

reilly long service.jpg
 
just come accross this cracking pic of the ladies who worked at wrights ropes..then remembered we have a thread for it...sorry no date but i would think the 40s or 50s...

lyn

image.jpeg
 
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My father John Joy worked for Wrights ropes when I and my sibblings were quite young.
He later went on to work for Cannings in Little Bar Street, just off Watery Lane until he retired around the 1980's.
Sadly, my father is no loger here.
I'm sure he would have had many memories of his time there.
 
A view of Wright's Ropes on the southern approach to New Street Station. Also an advert for the ropes - I like the optional steel rope or hemp rope border to the ad. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1333830472.614006.jpg Wright's Ropes Factory and chimney stack

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1333830532.383580.jpg Wright's Ropes advert
 
Here are some more pics:

Reilly Brothers 1.jpgReilly Brothers Article.jpgwrights long service invite.jpg

The first one is of my grandfather James (on the left) and his brother Dick on the rope walk, the second is an article in the local paper and the last is the invite to the long-service award ceremony from which I've already posted the certificate my grandfather was awarded.
 
HI MILLIE
yes dear old emily could have told you all you wanted to know about the managers and most certainly gerrard ;
as i have said previuosly i did work there myself thats how i got to know sweet emily a lovely well spoken and very educted lady
and well dressed at all times she told me of her first encounter with gerrard on her first morning starting in blackburs office he was the foreman
in the steel roped department you would have met him if you started there ; she used to do the costing work for the men and the ladies over the comp shops
and how he spoke to her in a manner she found him repugnent but she emediately put him in his place and he never crossed her again and nor use bad laues in front of her the senior management thougt the world of her and respected her even when she retired the company still kept in touch with her and still sent her cheques of money even thou she retired for years after wards i also spent social hours with her and her daughter whom used to run a dance school
down alum rock ; [ incidently ] some one mentioned they had dance lessons from the other week on here ;
her husband was a painter and a sign writer in birmingham of various places in b,ham; she told me .
incidently millie i bought some books yesterday and inside one of them there is a group of women in the war years carrying banners or posters from and stating they are british ropes workers i will get my son to take a copy and put it onfor you for tomorow all being well along with any bits of the story
your christian name ring a bell ; did you work in the com[ shop with a lady and a man the lady lived by the white hart pub ;chelmsley
speak tomorrow if you are on ; or when ever ; best wishes Astonian;
 
Hi Astonian,
Thanks for this info; Emily must have been some amazing lady, I'm sure I must have met her in my time there, but I was so shy of everybody then, I was too nervous to take much in. I worked for Gerard in the export dept. and sometimes had to go the comp girls to ask them to do calcs for the quotes and orders; I remember some of the ropes, sisal, jute, hemp and went into the factory a few times, & learnt quite a bit about exporting, but have forgot most of it after all this time. I think Gerry was a bit tetchy with most people, me included, I only stayed for about a year but i remember it quite fondly as it was my first job. I think they were taken over by British Ropes after I left.

all the best,
Millie
 
HI MILLIE
Yes she was a small framed attrative lady and she was total responible for all the works orders and the paper works of the work force doetts of work she would come out of the office with every bodys orders for the day of each indivisioal orders because all workwas cost cutting
and with out those sheets she had to have depends on your wage sheets as i said she was young when she started at wrights and yes she was there for the take over of british ropes whom did take over from wrights
as i have said my son will come tommorrow so he will do a copy for me of these gang of ladies for you to see if you are there or reconise any body ;
astonian;
 
HI VIV;
Thank you for that picture i found it very intresting to look at i was trying to study the picture details to se any where it and how it changed in any part of the grounds they was working on at that time and trying to se where was the office departments was
could you tell us what year that picture was
I would have loved to have shown dearly old emily that picture god bless her even after her retiremnt for twenty years ater they still did send her flowers and
gift right up until her deah from the head office up north she soon sorted out the management she made her mark and her postion within the company
she was well respected as i have said i used to spend time wuith her at her selly park home right up after her retirment and her death
she was a great lady and lady i mean ; a truely lady in every form and shape and highly resp[ected in the steet
thanks viv once again ; best wishes Astonian;;
 
Wrights rope works in Garrison Street before it became the Rover trim department where they made the seating and hood for the Land Rover among other things. Didn't Wrights move over the other side of Lawley St after moving out of Garrison St, or was that another company.
 

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Wrights rope works in Garrison Street before it became the Rover trim department where they made the seating and hood for the Land Rover among other things. Didn't Wrights move over the other side of Lawley St after moving out of Garrison St, or was that another company.

Your right Phil there was another section of the factory alongside the Viaduct Pub
 
Glad you found the drawing interesting Alan. The drawing is 1770, don't know when it was covered in but I expect the later buildings were on the same footprint as those in the picture. Maybe even some of the original buildings were absorbed into the later factory. I too like to study these drawings as you can spot some nice little details that tell you a bit more about the history. Like the boss in the top hat, looks like he's checking the hemp (? sorry know nowt about rope-making!). And there are the blokes climbing the stairs to that first building - no handrail - and as we've often said on the forum, no health & safety gone mad yet. Interesting that originally rope walks were outside, not covered in. Must have been hard work in the depths of winter.

Phil - hope someone can answer your question. Thanks for posting the photo. Viv.
 
As I understand it Wright's were founded in 1770, so this must have been a picture of the original works as built. Wright's are not listed in the 1777 directory, which I think was a pay-to-insert publication, but in 1818 William Wright;s Rope & Twine works were somewhere in Suffolk St
 
My father worked at Wright's Rope Works during the 1940's and also,I think, the 1930's. I did have a photograph of him at work there but, sadly, it was lost about fifteen years ago. He was a 'splicer.' Sorry I couldn't supply more information.
 
FOUNDER OF WRIGHTS ROPES etablished 1770.

Need help on this one....
Wrights Ropes Ltd...Garrison Lane....Got loads of information on the "Atlantic Cable"
What I have not got is what was the name of the Company when it was founded in 1770 !!! And the FOUNDER.....
Anything on the Wrights would be GREATLY Apreciated...
Brian.
 
HI MILLIE AND TREBOUR
Firstlly trebour i remember your uncle frank he was one of the splicers one of twelve within the work shop and a friend of his was
a guy called johny hartnell and his son inlaw i believe as he was the union man for our company at wrights ropes [ british ropes ]
they was from sutton coldfield
I Myself along with the splicers and johny harnell and a couple of other guys was the rope makers and we would sort out the customers ordrers
As i have previuosly said of a grand old lady named emily thomas was in the office whom handled all the documents for the company
a little old grey haired lady whom started work at wrights from the word dot she was always highly dressed and imacorite person
even when she retired the company kept in touch with her and often sent her flowers right up until the day she died
whilst i was working there she told me the story of her first impression of the the attitude of the person she was to work under towards her
but she soon put him his place i will not go into details on that subject but dear old emily was highly respected lady through out the whole country
and up north at the head quarters anybody whom is on the forum and worked there would remmber dear old emily hey would never forget her
even after hours and week ends i spent alot of time at her house i was there when she died at a ripe old age her husband whom died quite young really was
A Artist painter around in birmingham and her daughter was a high class dance instructure with her own dance studios in brum she his well known
and may i add she was and is still a high class lady like her mother you could not meet another lady like emily she was know around selly park
sorry for getting carried away about emily but she was the hub at wrights and if she was alive today she could give you all the picture s and info; fromthe top to
of the ranks of the generals office of tthis office he senior forman was mick and stan blackwell and he would be another person whom could fil in the life of
wrights i am sure the name rings bells regaring millie and th other lady i think was janet from chemsley wood by the white har pub she lived
but it was a great company to work for they was the ladies in the back section of the lighter ropes of splicing us men had the big heavvy duty steel cables
and after sorting the customers steel ropes from the splicers we would put these huges wooden reels on to a turn table and coil it all on to these cotton reel
they was huge hevvy stuff the type of cables they used for big ships and cranes and you need a a crane to lift it off the machine befor geting moved
by a stack a truck and you could see these big round rolls beinused by the GPO And telecommunications
and the other great guy of frank trebour and along side working partner with him was a young guy called jerry they was great mates and jerry used to live down by the cov rd by that big pub that used to be the one that was the biggest bar in brum all those years ago i used to drink wih them
and one day i was on the sick for a week i went to get my wages and i had a lovely tweed new fashion coat frank called me across the shop and said thats a
great smart jacket how much he said and where from i told him and a month or two later frank was wearing one ; frank was abit of a smart dresser as i recall
Him any way they was the good old days happy new year to you all for 2014 ;; Astonian;;
 
I wonder if any one remembers James and Dick Reilly, my grandfather and great uncle, who worked until well after retirement age (at least into the 1950s)? James, my grandfather, received a long service certificate in 1948 - 48 years.

Of course, any one who remembers them would have been extremely young at the time!
 
Hi all this is a photo of my sister Eileen Emery, as she was then, the photo is about 1962 with her colleagues at Wrights Ropes,eileen abt 1960 12.jpg eileen is at the front on the right,she worked there for 4 years. all the best Michael.
 
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