La Corderie Royale Photo

Photographer’s Note

A panorama of the Corderie Royale (Royal Rope Works), which is located in the old naval base and dockyard in the town of Rochefort.

The picture is a stitch of three landscape images.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

In the middle of the 17th century, the harbour of Brouage silted up and the site of Rochefort was selected by Colbert ( French minister of finance under King Louis XIV) to build a naval base and a dockyard. This site, 15 km from the mouth of the river Charente, was well protected against the English threat of raids and established a good base for the defence of the Atlantic coast.

The naval dockyard which extends along the Charente was created in 1666 and there were a considerable number of vessels built there up until its closure in 1926. The shape of the dry docks gives an idea of the size of the vessels which came in for maintenance and repair. One can visit a replica of the ship building yard where the Frigate Hermione was built in Rochefort in the 18th century, aboard which La Fayette crossed the Atlantic Ocean to join the Americans in their War of Independence. It is from Rochefort that La Fayette left in 1780 for his second journey to America.

In the middle of the naval dockyard, is a building 374 metres long, remarkably restored, and impressive in its dimensions and its proportions. It is difficult to imagine that this magnificent building was built for industrial purposes. This Royal Rope factory, built between 1666 and 1670 and supported on oak beams because of the swampy ground, is a testimony to the industrial architecture of the 17th century. Inside, one is also impressed by the immense room built to accommodate the dimensions of ropes which were being made. Tools and machines, raw materials, processes and methods of manufacturing are presented in a very comprehensible way. Animated scenes of life aboard the vessels complete this fascinating visit.

Source of the above information: http://www.bernezac.com/Rochefort_uk.htm

saxo042, besnard, Royaldevon, papagolf21, Budapestman, jhm, mortijo, ChrisJ, sandpiper, jlbrthnn, phwall, John_F_Kennedy, chinchini, Charo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mauro61 (16620) 2009-10-19 0:35

ciao Stephen,
bellissima inquadratura e taglio stretto sulla costruzione e il prato antistante.
Colori delicati con un fantastico cielo nuvoloso.
saluti
maurizio

saxo042 (16554) 2009-10-19 0:38

Hi Stephen,
A very beautiful panorama of this extraordinary architecture. The large version showsw all the interesting details, and a lot of people!
Kind regards
Gunnar

besnard (31316) 2009-10-19 0:44

Bonjour Stephen
Un joli panoramique de cette très belle architecture.
C'est clair, lumineux, bien cadré.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

Royaldevon (5978) 2009-10-19 0:55

Well done, Stephen! A fine panorama of this amazing complex of buildings. Your large edition reveals excellent details of the architecture and, for the curious amongst us, interesting details of the people!

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

papagolf21 (57003) 2009-10-19 1:07

Bonjour, cher Stephen,
Ah ! superbe édifice qui a le mérite d'être toujours parfaitement entretenu.
Pas facile de trouver un endroit pour donner toute l'importance de cette corderie.
Un choix judicieux et parfaitement mis en valeur.
Amitiés.
Philippe
P.S. : Félicitations pour cette vue large : splendide !

jusninasirun (10361) 2009-10-19 1:40

Kodiang 2009

Hi Stephan: Nice wide panorama to capture this beautiful architecture with nice surrounding. The green field in the fg contrasting well with the cloudy sky. Very well done and thanks for sharing. Best regards.
Jusni

Budapestman (43238) 2009-10-19 2:43

Hi Stephen,
a beautiful panorama of this elegant architecture, the composition is spectacular, superb depth and POV, splendid shot! Have a nice week!
George

jhm (83742) 2009-10-19 3:46

Hello Stephen,

You did very well work, three pictures stitching with a very good result.
Technical as picture and splendid as subject.
Excellent captured and lovely composed.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice week,
John.

mortijo (12522) 2009-10-19 3:59

Great panoramic shot. The large version offers us a lot of detail. Good light and excellent colors.
Regards
John

ChrisJ (70485) 2009-10-19 4:24

Hi Stephen

Good choice of a wide angled, panoramic format, with excellent pastel colour & composition, & reasonable sharpness. Tfs!

sandpiper (1635) 2009-10-19 5:05

Hi Stephen

Great large view of this beautiful building and surroundings. the position of the people on the lawn is good too. Beautiful architecture and great composition.

Chris

jlbrthnn (39451) 2009-10-19 5:07

Bonjour Stephen,
L'endroit est incontournable. Tu n'as pas manqué la photo. Le cadrage avec ce large premier plan de pelouse verte est très agréable. L'image est profonde, nette et idéalement colorée. Bravo.
Bonne journée.
Amicalement
Joël

phwall (5815) 2009-10-19 5:19

Hello Stephen,
When I opened your last post I was hoping you would be showing us the "Rope Room" and here it is, magnificent.
Splendid panorama, lots of fine detail. The large post works very well to bring every aspect so much closer.
An excellent presentation, tfs, and...blue sky.
Regards
Peter

John_F_Kennedy (32308) 2009-10-19 5:23

Hello Stephen,
Great perspective of this architecture. The sharpness and clarity of the large photo is fine showing us very good the details. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

Silvio1953 (43362) 2009-10-19 5:37

Ciao Stephen , splendid view of lovely buildings, wonderful soft colors and great perspective, fantastic great version, very well done, ciao Silvio

TopGeo (22475) 2009-10-19 9:32

Hello Stephen,
Great perspective of this architecture.They is a view in the region with very beautiful indirect lighting that it gives in the picture exceptional interesting Irreproachable frame
compliments
Georgios

chinchini (27917) 2009-10-19 12:10

Hello Stephen,
Encore un très bon sujet dans un format bien pensé. La version large est très correcte, avec une bonne PDC. Le POV est bien choisi. J'apprécie la position des couples de personnes à gauche et à droite de l'image.
Mes amitiés
Pierre

john1 (2561) 2009-10-19 13:12

Hi Stephen,

A beautiful view with all this green and architectural buildings. beautiful depth of field and sharpness. The lovers adds a lively touch. A composition very clear and good light.
a good week.
john

Charo (32126) 2009-10-19 16:08

Bonsoir Stephen,
Très belle perspective qui couvre la quasi-totalité de ces magnifiques bâtiments. Sur cette image vous pouvez voir la taille importante de l'endroit.
Excellente lumière et des couleurs naturelles.
Amitiés,
Charo

rodgerg (25489) 2009-10-20 2:58

Hello Stephen,

Une autre belle vue large qui permet d'apprécier l'ampleur des bâtiments. Beau cadrage avec l'arbre sur la gauche et les deux personnes qui apportent une touche de vie et donne une idée de l'échelle. Le vert intense de la pelous donne de la profondeur à l'iamge.
Amitiés,
Roger