Hall’s Barton Ropery was an international name of excellence in the shipping and many other industries for 200 years. Hall’s Ropes made on the Barton site were used on all the major shipping lines and for the first ascent of Everest. The factory was closed in 1989 and lay dormant until The Proudfoot Group, a supermarket group from Scarborough , who developed a store on site, purchased the site in 1996.

The Ropewalk building, where the large ropes were made, is just short of a quarter of a mile long and is grade II listed. In April 2000 one fifth of the building was opened as an arts centre housing 2 galleries, artists workshops, picture framing business and a Heritage Display. SRB, European Regional Development Fund, The Proudfoot Group and Yorkshire Forward funded the capital build and officers from North Lincolnshire Councils Cultural Services Section enabled the whole process. The centre attracts in excess of 20,000 visitors per year and is run by The Waterside Artists Co-operative.

The success of phase I enabled the partners The Proudfoot Group, North Lincolnshire Council and The Waterside Artists’ Co-operative to apply for funding to restore the rest of the building and in September 2005 the building work was complete. Phase 2 houses 12 artists’ studios, 18 start up units of 200 2ft for creative industries (Fathom Works) and approximately 5000 2ft for larger creative businesses. The new centre wishes to attract a cluster of digital, media, design and other related industries to occupy the spaces.

Fathom Works provides sector specific workspace, training, advice and support for the Creative Industries. Working under the same roof as other creative businesses will help companies develop to reach their full potential. The units at Fathom Works have a wide range of services included in the monthly rent, which has been priced extremely competitively.