Ropemaker's Arms

The Ropemaker's Arms is a pub in Chatham, ostensibly the home of George Thompson, whose mother used a room there to take her customers to, often using the same room later that night as lodgings for herself, her son and her daughter and (later) her grandson. It was run by Lil Baker, a tough no-nonsense woman, and was the regular haunt of 'Punchy' Wright, a dockyard worker.

One of the 'fixtures' of the taproom is a foul-mouthed parrot called Stormy, which was brought back to England by a sailor. There is an old barrel-hoop hung over the bar for him to perch on, and patrons can encourage him to display his vocabulary by offering him sippers of their drinks.