The weigh and crane houses of former times by James Reddiough
Mount Gable looms over all and nearby in the Joyce Country is Clonbur a small market town in the north west of Galway. There is an interesting feature in the town the Crane House or weigh house once commonly used items in the town and cities of Ireland on a market day.
The crane house was introduced to Ireland in the 18th Century and was in use for much of the 19th centuries and 20th century into the middle of the century. It was in use on market day when the farmers converged on the local town to sell produce like potatoes and oats to the large merchants, shopkeepers and townspeople also.
For that reason they were located in the town centre or market square or near the market house if there was one in the town. The crane house in Clonbur is one of the smallest in Ireland and is square shaped and has a pyramidal roof with arched doorways since blocked and barred once the crane house had outlived its usefulness. The crane house is also a focal meeting point for the community at the corner of the street. For ceilis and other such social gatherings outdoors.
There are others weigh houses in Galway like the one at Gort which is made of cut stone and was built in the middle of the 18th century. It led to the development of the town into a major centre and market town. It is located in the market square. Further north in Galway city there is the small crane square in the west end of the city that was in use during the latter end of the 19th century when the weekly potato market was held. The large crane was located in Eyre Square.
Then further North West we return to the crane house at Clonbur where the wool from the local sheep in the hills was packed into large canvas bags and weighed in the crane house at the corner of the street. The crane also weighed oats and potatoes as this writer was told by a local farmer when visiting the locality recently.
The crane or weigh houses were found all over Ireland and indeed the European continent in general and there is a lot of them in Holland that are still in good condition. They were used for levying taxes on goods coming into the city and they were in all cases linked to the trade in the market of the town.
