Length Measurements
Inch
Hand = 4 inches - Horse measurement, measured from ground to highest point on the withers.
Link = 7.92 inches (see Chain for explanation)
Foot = 12 inches
Yard = 3 feet or 36 inches
Fathom = 6 feet - Nautical depth measurement
Rod, Pole or Perch = 25 links = 5½ yards - a Surveyor's Rod
Chain = 22 yards = 66 feet = 100 Links - If you're a Cricketer you'll know this as the length of a cricket wicket - the distance between the "stumps" which are the 3 sticks at either end with "bales" on top if you field at "mid-wicket" you'll be equi-distant from either end but if at "silly mid-on" or "silly mid-off" you'll be closer to the bowling end - see here for total clarity!
Furlong = 10 chains = 220 yards - still used in horse racing, originally the length of a furrow
Mile = 8 furlongs = 80 chains = 1760 yards = 5280 feet - a thousand Roman paces (a Roman 'pace' was actually 2 paces: left, right) - about 1600 metres, in the UK today the 1500 metre athletics race is known as the metric mile actually about 1,640 yards
League = 3 "Miles" see Nautical measurements for a discussion.
Area Measurements
Sq foot = 144 sq inches
Sq yard = 9 sq feet = 1296 sq inches
Sq Pole = 30¼ sq yards - often simply referred to as a Pole or Perch in land measurement
Rood = ¼ acre = 1,210 sq yards = 40 sq poles
Acre = 4 roods = 10 sq chains = 4840 sq yards = Statute acre - a good-sized UK football "pitch", 90% of US Football field or 67% of a Canadian one less end zones - but note that a Customary (or Saxon) acre was different, and that Scottish and Irish acres were different again!
Virgate = 30 acres - but varied in different districts - also called yardland
Hide = 4 virgates - but really denoted the amount of land sufficient to support a family and varied according to the locality or quality of the land
Sq mile = 640 acres
Capacity Measurements
These are British Imperial. US Measures have a Pint as 16 Fluid ounces so a US Gallon is 4/5th of an Imperial one.
1 Fluid Ounce = 8 drams - so a "wee dram" is truly small about a teaspoon.
1 Pint = 4 gills = 20 fluid ounces
1 Quart = 2 pints
1 Gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints
1 Peck = 2 gallons
1 Bushel = 4 pecks = 8 gallons
Weight Measurements
1 Ounce (oz) = 16 drams (troy or apothecary weight)
1 Pound (lb) = 16 oz
1 Clove = 7 lb
1 Stone = 14 lb - still used in the UK today as a personal weight measure, I used to weigh 13 stone 7 lbs = 189lbs
1 Quarter or a Tod = 28 lb
1 Hundredweight (cwt) = 4 quarters = 112 lb
1 Quintal = traditionally equivalent to 1 Hundredweight = 112lbs originally 100 Roman lbs. The Loyalists traded with the West Indies where the French, Spanish and Portugese had colonies and this weight was often used. In France a quintal was 100 livres or 107.9 Imperial pounds the modern quintal is 100 Kilograms or twice the weight.
1 Sack = 364 lb
1 Long or Imperial Ton = 20 cwt = 2240 lb - in the US a ton is a Short Ton or US ton = 2000lbs
Pound Sterling Currency
1 Farthing
1 Halfpenny (ha'penny) = 2 farthings
1 Penny (d) = 4 farthings - d = denarius, a Roman coin, translated to 'penny' in the Bible
1 Groat = 4 pence
1 Shilling (s) = 12 pence/pennies - became 5 new pence (new p) in 1971
1 Florin = 2 shillings
1 Crown = 5 shillings
1 Pound (£) = 4 crowns = 20 shillings
1 Guinea = 21 shillings. Captain Booth also noted a Guinea in Nova Scotia was 23 shillings
The value of a Pound varied depending on the British Colony. Captain William Booth reports on a consignment of goods sent him at Shelburne in 1789 as valued at £1500 Pounds in Grenada (West Indies), £909 Pounds at Halifax, NS and £818 2s 11d in England. He reports the dollar to be worth 5/- (5 shillings) in Halifax and 4/6d (4 shillings 6 pence) in England.
Information courtesy Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society
See what the Loyalists got for their money Here.
Alcoholic Measures
Note in these Liquid measures that Barrels, Hogsheads, Puncheons, Butts, Pipes and Tuns were different whether it was Beer or Wine!
The standard liquor measure in British Pubs was, until fairly recently, a 1/6th gill (in metric 24ml) or less than 1 Fl oz it's now, courtesy of the EU, 25ml.
Large Beer Measures
9 (beer) gallons = 1 Firkin
18 gallons = 2 firkins = 1 Kilderkin
36 gallons = 2 kilderkins = 1 Barrel
54 gallons = 1 1/2 barrels = 1 Hogshead
72 gallons = 1 1/3 hogsheads = 1 Puncheon
108 gallons = 1 1/2 puncheons or 2 hogsheads = 1 Butt or Pipe
216 gallons = 2 pipes = 1 Tun
British Imperial Wine Measures
10 (wine) gallons = 1 Anker
18 gallons = 1 Rundlet
31.5 gallons = 1 Barrel
42 gallons = 1 Tierce
63 gallons = 1 Hogshead
84 gallons = 2 tierces = 1 Puncheon
126 gallons = 1 1/2 puncheons = 1 Butt or Pipe
252 gallons = 2 pipes = 1 Tun
Note, when it comes to a Barrel of Crude Oil the capacity was standardized at 42 Gallons in 1866 and said to be based on a Tierce. These are "notional" barrels as oil is no longer shipped in real barrels but the measurement remains as a basis for pricing and quantifying crude oil. Also the 42 gallons in an Oil Barrel are US not Imperial Gallons!
Nautical Measures
Just when I thought we'd plumbed the depths of this topic there's the building of the Cape Roseway Lighthouse where the structure was complete in October 1790 but the Light not a-lighting until September, 1792.
It was eventually in full commission with a light according to the Rev. James Munro "which hath been seen at the distance of seven yea at the distance of ten leagues off" so I had to ask - What is a League?
There's Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and:
For the Tennyson scholars there's also:
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
A League is defined as 3 miles. Simple, right? But (don't you hate that word) there are two versions of the mile, statute and nautical and a league in nautical miles is actually about 3.45 statute miles.
So the Light Brigade was going forward by 1.5 statute miles and the Rev. Munro could see the Roseway Light from between 21 nautical miles, yea 30 nautical miles but as he was probably a Landlubber maybe it was just over 24 statute miles or even 34.5?
1 Fathom = 6 Feet - basically the length of a man's arm span, finger tip to finger tip from the Old English, 'faedm', which means to embrace
Pistol Shot = 65 feet thereabouts or maybe 25 yards which is 75 feet.
Long Pistol Shot = 130 feet or maybe 50 yards which is 150 feet
1 Cable = 100 fathoms but the British Admiralty standardized the Cable in 1830 to be 1/10 nautical mile or 608 feet, however the US Mariner's Cable is 120 fathoms or 720 feet and the Metric Cable is 200 metres or 656 feet.
1 Nautical Mile = 10 Cables or 6080 feet rounded up, it's actually 6,076 Feet
1 League = 3 Nautical Miles, well, maybe, also 3 Statute or Land miles depending whether you were on sea or land.
Inch
Hand = 4 inches - Horse measurement, measured from ground to highest point on the withers.
Link = 7.92 inches (see Chain for explanation)
Foot = 12 inches
Yard = 3 feet or 36 inches
Fathom = 6 feet - Nautical depth measurement
Rod, Pole or Perch = 25 links = 5½ yards - a Surveyor's Rod
Chain = 22 yards = 66 feet = 100 Links - If you're a Cricketer you'll know this as the length of a cricket wicket - the distance between the "stumps" which are the 3 sticks at either end with "bales" on top if you field at "mid-wicket" you'll be equi-distant from either end but if at "silly mid-on" or "silly mid-off" you'll be closer to the bowling end - see here for total clarity!
Furlong = 10 chains = 220 yards - still used in horse racing, originally the length of a furrow
Mile = 8 furlongs = 80 chains = 1760 yards = 5280 feet - a thousand Roman paces (a Roman 'pace' was actually 2 paces: left, right) - about 1600 metres, in the UK today the 1500 metre athletics race is known as the metric mile actually about 1,640 yards
League = 3 "Miles" see Nautical measurements for a discussion.
Area Measurements
Sq foot = 144 sq inches
Sq yard = 9 sq feet = 1296 sq inches
Sq Pole = 30¼ sq yards - often simply referred to as a Pole or Perch in land measurement
Rood = ¼ acre = 1,210 sq yards = 40 sq poles
Acre = 4 roods = 10 sq chains = 4840 sq yards = Statute acre - a good-sized UK football "pitch", 90% of US Football field or 67% of a Canadian one less end zones - but note that a Customary (or Saxon) acre was different, and that Scottish and Irish acres were different again!
Virgate = 30 acres - but varied in different districts - also called yardland
Hide = 4 virgates - but really denoted the amount of land sufficient to support a family and varied according to the locality or quality of the land
Sq mile = 640 acres
Capacity Measurements
These are British Imperial. US Measures have a Pint as 16 Fluid ounces so a US Gallon is 4/5th of an Imperial one.
1 Fluid Ounce = 8 drams - so a "wee dram" is truly small about a teaspoon.
1 Pint = 4 gills = 20 fluid ounces
1 Quart = 2 pints
1 Gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints
1 Peck = 2 gallons
1 Bushel = 4 pecks = 8 gallons
Weight Measurements
1 Ounce (oz) = 16 drams (troy or apothecary weight)
1 Pound (lb) = 16 oz
1 Clove = 7 lb
1 Stone = 14 lb - still used in the UK today as a personal weight measure, I used to weigh 13 stone 7 lbs = 189lbs
1 Quarter or a Tod = 28 lb
1 Hundredweight (cwt) = 4 quarters = 112 lb
1 Quintal = traditionally equivalent to 1 Hundredweight = 112lbs originally 100 Roman lbs. The Loyalists traded with the West Indies where the French, Spanish and Portugese had colonies and this weight was often used. In France a quintal was 100 livres or 107.9 Imperial pounds the modern quintal is 100 Kilograms or twice the weight.
1 Sack = 364 lb
1 Long or Imperial Ton = 20 cwt = 2240 lb - in the US a ton is a Short Ton or US ton = 2000lbs
Pound Sterling Currency
1 Farthing
1 Halfpenny (ha'penny) = 2 farthings
1 Penny (d) = 4 farthings - d = denarius, a Roman coin, translated to 'penny' in the Bible
1 Groat = 4 pence
1 Shilling (s) = 12 pence/pennies - became 5 new pence (new p) in 1971
1 Florin = 2 shillings
1 Crown = 5 shillings
1 Pound (£) = 4 crowns = 20 shillings
1 Guinea = 21 shillings. Captain Booth also noted a Guinea in Nova Scotia was 23 shillings
The value of a Pound varied depending on the British Colony. Captain William Booth reports on a consignment of goods sent him at Shelburne in 1789 as valued at £1500 Pounds in Grenada (West Indies), £909 Pounds at Halifax, NS and £818 2s 11d in England. He reports the dollar to be worth 5/- (5 shillings) in Halifax and 4/6d (4 shillings 6 pence) in England.
Information courtesy Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society
See what the Loyalists got for their money Here.
Alcoholic Measures
Note in these Liquid measures that Barrels, Hogsheads, Puncheons, Butts, Pipes and Tuns were different whether it was Beer or Wine!
The standard liquor measure in British Pubs was, until fairly recently, a 1/6th gill (in metric 24ml) or less than 1 Fl oz it's now, courtesy of the EU, 25ml.
Large Beer Measures
9 (beer) gallons = 1 Firkin
18 gallons = 2 firkins = 1 Kilderkin
36 gallons = 2 kilderkins = 1 Barrel
54 gallons = 1 1/2 barrels = 1 Hogshead
72 gallons = 1 1/3 hogsheads = 1 Puncheon
108 gallons = 1 1/2 puncheons or 2 hogsheads = 1 Butt or Pipe
216 gallons = 2 pipes = 1 Tun
British Imperial Wine Measures
10 (wine) gallons = 1 Anker
18 gallons = 1 Rundlet
31.5 gallons = 1 Barrel
42 gallons = 1 Tierce
63 gallons = 1 Hogshead
84 gallons = 2 tierces = 1 Puncheon
126 gallons = 1 1/2 puncheons = 1 Butt or Pipe
252 gallons = 2 pipes = 1 Tun
Note, when it comes to a Barrel of Crude Oil the capacity was standardized at 42 Gallons in 1866 and said to be based on a Tierce. These are "notional" barrels as oil is no longer shipped in real barrels but the measurement remains as a basis for pricing and quantifying crude oil. Also the 42 gallons in an Oil Barrel are US not Imperial Gallons!
Nautical Measures
Just when I thought we'd plumbed the depths of this topic there's the building of the Cape Roseway Lighthouse where the structure was complete in October 1790 but the Light not a-lighting until September, 1792.
It was eventually in full commission with a light according to the Rev. James Munro "which hath been seen at the distance of seven yea at the distance of ten leagues off" so I had to ask - What is a League?
There's Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and:
For the Tennyson scholars there's also:
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
A League is defined as 3 miles. Simple, right? But (don't you hate that word) there are two versions of the mile, statute and nautical and a league in nautical miles is actually about 3.45 statute miles.
So the Light Brigade was going forward by 1.5 statute miles and the Rev. Munro could see the Roseway Light from between 21 nautical miles, yea 30 nautical miles but as he was probably a Landlubber maybe it was just over 24 statute miles or even 34.5?
1 Fathom = 6 Feet - basically the length of a man's arm span, finger tip to finger tip from the Old English, 'faedm', which means to embrace
Pistol Shot = 65 feet thereabouts or maybe 25 yards which is 75 feet.
Long Pistol Shot = 130 feet or maybe 50 yards which is 150 feet
1 Cable = 100 fathoms but the British Admiralty standardized the Cable in 1830 to be 1/10 nautical mile or 608 feet, however the US Mariner's Cable is 120 fathoms or 720 feet and the Metric Cable is 200 metres or 656 feet.
1 Nautical Mile = 10 Cables or 6080 feet rounded up, it's actually 6,076 Feet
1 League = 3 Nautical Miles, well, maybe, also 3 Statute or Land miles depending whether you were on sea or land.
Loyalist Measures.
1783 was 188 years before any form of decimalization (some would say common sense!) was introduced into Great Britain's or the UK's system of weights and measures. In 1971 the old money of Pounds, Shillings and Pence (£ s d) was rationalized to a decimal system based on Pounds and Pence which are known as "pee". Where once there were sovereigns, guineas, florins, half-crowns, shillings, pennies, bobs, tanners, groats, thrupenny bits, ha'pennies and farthings there are now just 'pee', which is simpler but a bit of a shame.
Although not all the Units and Measures you see below were in common use in 1783 many were. In fact a surprising number linger on, the first time I had to buy fence wire in Canada (1986) it was sold to me in Rods nobody could tell me at the store how much I'd actually bought, I hadn't a clue even being originally from the UK!
So enjoy the wonders of the Imperial System of Units and Weights and Measures.
For a total journey into wonderland we've included Beer and Wine measures!
If you have any units you want to check out try here
Addendum, just added : Nautical measures
Although not all the Units and Measures you see below were in common use in 1783 many were. In fact a surprising number linger on, the first time I had to buy fence wire in Canada (1986) it was sold to me in Rods nobody could tell me at the store how much I'd actually bought, I hadn't a clue even being originally from the UK!
So enjoy the wonders of the Imperial System of Units and Weights and Measures.
For a total journey into wonderland we've included Beer and Wine measures!
If you have any units you want to check out try here
Addendum, just added : Nautical measures
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