An Eden craftsman was roped into the limelight, with his work appearing on one of the UK’s most watched TV shows.
Ian Outram is the owner, and sole craftsman, of Ropework-UK. From his King’s Meaburn barn, the business provides a range of rope-based products from bridges and scramble nets to authentic replicas for the screen and the stage.
Recently, he created a bespoke bridge for one of acclaimed soap opera Emmerdale’s largest ever stunts.
It involved dangling actors 60 feet in the air and dropping a stunt team repeatedly from the eye-watering height.
The stunt took around three hours to rig each time and a single day might involve Ian’s expertise being used no more than a handful of times. This meant spending lots of time sitting on the set and taking in the atmosphere.
“It is fascinating,” he said. “I love going on sets. Even just watching the artists practising lines over and over is amazing but I sometimes feel like I know the words as well as they do, listening so much.
“The Emmerdale cast and crew were really nice people. They were fantastic. They look after you well too — they’ve got gophers bringing you tea and coffee and lunch is all put on — its a great place to be.”
Director Duncan Foster said: “The bridge stunt was fantastic. I mean it was really scary, it was so high I didn’t even dare go on the bridge.”
Having had his work featured in everything from films like Whisky Galore to productions at the Globe Theatre in London; Ian is slowly becoming the go-to man in the industry for all things rope related.
Ian learned the ropes — literally —when growing up in Fleetwood. It was then the third largest fishing port in Britain, and he worked from the age of 13 on the docks as a stores boy.
At 15 he was moved to the ships riggers department where his interest in ropes really took hold.
Back then more than half the town was employed on the docks and for every one man at sea there were some 10 jobs supporting the industry on land.
But with the decline of North Atlantic fishing following the Cod Wars, the work dried up and he moved away. Since then he has managed to forge a niche for himself in the industry creating everything from a trebuchet at Warwick Castle to training ropes for Bear Grylls.
His work is featured in locations including Blenheim Palace, Chatsworth House and LegoLand Windsor.
But the art of rope making is dying. With metal and plastic being increasingly used to fulfil health and safety criteria, Ian estimated he’s one of about a dozen people still professionally pursuing the ancient craft in the UK.
Ian makes bespoke rope creations that cannot be bought off the shelf and has now expanded into making his own coloured ropes, able to match the colour for anything from custom curtain ties to dog leads to match football kits.
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