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The dockyard was a unique environment scarcely recorded. Military dockyards were (and are) hermetically sealed from the outside world; fascinating in their difference they are also familiar as vast centres of skilled work.
Many dockyard practices and techniques were archaic. In other respects dockyards are technological innovators. They were precursors of the industrial revolution. State dockyards are complex environments. They were protected from the demands of the commercial world. Quality was of paramount importance. Warships have to be strong enough to withstand explosions at sea. Traditional ropemaking survived alongside the latest nuclear and electronic technologies because it produced the best quality rope.
The dockyard was highly regulated yet people found many ways to circumvent the rules; women worked in strict segregation in an overwhelmingly masculine world, in reality they were closely connected.
The dockyard was as large and intricate as a town, many generations, whole families, have passed through its’ gates. They were civilian craftsmen who repaired and built warships. They produced ships’ supplies including rope.
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