"Sleeping over the rope"

Has anyone heard of this phrase or similar in respect of how people used to sleep in doss houses?

Heard it yesterday in a Hancock's Half Hour made in 1956.

Many thanks, Harry

Was Anthony Aloysius Hancock on BBC7? In a doss house, to save space, people didn't sleep on the floor. A rope was strung across the room and people slept with their arms over it. I don't know if they were standing or sitting - it wouldn't have been very comfortable either way.