Fire in the Dockyard
The Royal Dockyard at Portsmouth was one of the largest industrial concerns of the 18th century. It was a huge site in the heart of the city, where thousands of skilled workers were employed building, repairing and supplying many of the Royal Navy’s ships. One of its most impressive buildings was the ropery, a complex that included workshops a quarter of a mile long where ships’ cables were manufactured. Full of stored hemp and barrels of tar, it was one of the worst places t
