Work in outskirts of Rochdale making stout cord (4)
I believe the answer is:
rope
'stout cord' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'work in outskirts of rochdale' is the wordplay.
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'outskirts of' suggests removing the centre.
'rochdale' with its centre removed is 're'.
'op' put within 're' is 'ROPE'.
'making' is the link.
(Other definitions for rope that I've seen before include "Noose" , "Pore (anag.)" , "Lash" , "Enough to hang one?" , "Guy" .)