Rope family

The Rope family were merchants and shipowners who had lived on the Suffolk coast since the seventeenth century, and had been involved in the trade on the Alde since 1766. In about 1827, George Rope entered the service of his uncle, George Mingay of Orford. Their trade was coastal, ferryin coal between the northeast and Suffolk, and taking agricultural produce to London. They were based at Orford, which had been set up to try and boost the flagging coastal trade. Although the arrival of the railways further harmed this traditional industry, Mingay and Rope (as they became when George Rope was created a partner) prospered, due to their introduction of schooners to replace the traditional brigs. Indeed George Rope continued trading well into the 1880s, and maintained his connections with Orford, being mayor three times.