Holland: Beam and Hook

 By Dr Khalid Siddiqui
Ohio

A beam sticking out from the gable or roof of the older houses in Amsterdam is a common sight. A hook is noted to be attached to the underside of the beam. What is the purpose of this contraption?

The story goes like this: Starting almost 300 years ago property taxes in Amsterdam were based on the width of the houses. To avoid paying taxes the residents started building as narrow a house as possible. The extra space was gained by making the house deeper and higher.

Making the house narrow compromised the area of the stairwell. Moving the furniture and goods up through the narrow and steep stairwell became a huge problem. Also, many spiral staircases added to the hazard.  The residents came up with an ingenious solution, i.e. pulleys, external hooks and big windows. The large objects were hoisted up with pulleys and rope and loaded inside the house through large windows. The buildings were purposely made to tilt slightly forward. That prevented the dangling furniture from hitting the walls or windows of the house while it was being hauled up.

Most of these houses were built near the city canals. The upper levels were used for storage of, mostly, the grain. That would keep the grain dry during flooding. The living quarters were on the lower levels. The furniture in the living quarters was not moved much as people stayed in houses for a long time. However, the sacks of agricultural commodities were moved in and out of the storage area several times a year for purposes of trading. The hook and pulley system, therefore, was essential for the upper levels.

People are still living in these houses. Although the beams and hooks are seen attached to the houses, they are rarely used now. Instead, a temporary mechanized outdoor lift (controlled remotely) is used to carry stuff from the ground level to the windows and vice versa. These are run by professional moving companies. Please watch the video clip.

Note: A window tax based on the number of windows in the house was in effect in England and Ireland between 1696 and 1851. So, even large houses had hardly any windows. There are still some leftovers from that era. I saw a few of them in those countries too.