Fig. 1: This view shows the front of the building. On the left it is possible to see the pillars of the entrance to the butter market. The steps are not contemporary with the building but were added in the 1980’s.
From its height in Shandon, The Firkin Crane offers a unique shape to the skyline of the Northside of Cork City. Built in 1855, and designed by architect Sir John Benson, The Firkin Crane is an excellent example of modernity reflected through urban architecture. Its innovative and clever design reflects its purpose and shows how expansion of the butter market forced modernity. All of the services that were required by the market were located near it. The butter was put into barrels (firkins) and these were balanced and weighed in this building on a piece of machinery known as a crane. The easiest way to accommodate the movements of this crane was to build the building in a circle, hence the name and the shape.
Fig. 2: This is an aerial shot of The Firkin Crane taken from the top of Shandon Bells. It shows jus how unique the building is in its surroundings and how it compares to other buildings in the city.
Kraftl (2009) tells us of the Marxixts idea of reading landscapes as texts; this is true of the area encompassing The Firkin Crane. Buildings allow you to investigate the structure of the neighbourhood. Outside the Firkin Crane is O’Connell Square which was also designed by Benson. This space offers a sharp contrast to the surrounding narrow, winding, streets and lanes; it reflects a boulevard type space, this wide open space allowed for social transactions between merchants and farmers. By itself The Firkin Crane is significant but as part of the butter market it is even more so and forms part of a cityscape (Kraftl, 2009). The globalisation of the butter trade forced modernity in the grading, production and exportation of Cork butter. As Cork butter was the gold standard of butter it was exported and traded all over the world. High standards, exact measures and up to date techniques were an essential. The Firkin Crane was part of a landscape of power, this neighbourhood was the centre of the butter trade, and if you didn’t sell butter at this market you had a very poor chance of selling it elsewhere.
The status that went with the butter trade was reflected in the spectacle incorporated in the design of the buildings of the butter market including The Firkin Crane. “Buildings are designed to exert and/ or represent the interests of those with the power to build” (Kraftl, 2009, pg.31).
Sources Consulted:
Dennis, R. (2008) Cities in Modernity Representations and Productions of Metropolitan Space, 1840-1930 University Press: Cambridge.
Jervis, J. (1998) Exploring the Modern Blackwell: Oxford.
Kraftl, P. (2009) Urban Architecture in The International Encylopedia of Human Geography Elsevier.
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