An Inquiry to Show, What Was the Ancient English Weight and Measure According to theLaws or Statutes, Prior to the Reign of Henry the SeventhSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 65 (1775), pp. 48-58Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/106174 .

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t 48 3

EI. fln Inquiry to Jhow, xh4t W4f -the atciert Englinl Weght and Meafure according to the La?fs or Stat8S, prior to he ReigN fif Herr the Sesetth.

s774, WILLIAM the Conquerory by Es char- ter, confirmed to theEngliffi all their

ancientlaws,withfuchadditionsoralterations as he made therein-, tQ their aclvantage. The 5 7 th clauSe of that charter is, ' De menMutis et ponderibxs. Et qaod babeant 4 per aniquerfuz reXnam, snexJ<vrawfidelxifMimas etJiXxviaB 44 et pondva fideAia st fgnatv Jicgt boni predecgores <'J?atgergnt.' From this-clauSe it feems clearX that kingwILLIAM ordained, fealed Randards both of velghts a}d meafures, to be made, fach as his predeceXor king i;DW;AR1}; had orded. Neither weights or meafures are luere defcribed pavrticularly; but the fubIbguent flcatute$ define them more plainly. And the Chronicon Pretiof?wm tells us} that from hiRorians it appears, the Conqueror determin@d what the vteight of the flcerlillg penny or penny weightR {hould be, to weigh 3 z grains dry wzheatu CoruSequently the Randard penny weightwas made equal to the weight of 3 2 gralns wheat-* Stacceeding kings confirmedwItLIAM'scharter; and even -the greatcharter 8;ranted by lsirM JQHN iS Oy to esain and reRore the

-ancie.nt

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[ 49 } alcient laws, hicll had been infringed. The llatutes of 5 Ifi of HENRY III. and 3 Ifi of EDWARD I. explain the anc.ient sveirg;hts and meafur; that is to fay, the Englifl penny called a l:cerling, round without clipping, sras to w;eigh 3z graills dry svheat, taken from mitlft of the e.ar, and zo of thoSe pellny sveights. were to make an OllnCe, alld I z orlnces a poun(l . alld 8 of thofe pounds were to be a g«allorl of vine, ansl 8 of thofe gallons to make a London bulllel, which is the 8th. part of a quar- ter. The deSrwitioll of.the pelllly weight in thefe ftaw tutes aggrees with the determination.of WI-LLI AM the COn-

queror, arsd Illossrs the legal weight continued the famet What the weight of that pound +ras, fo raifed from a penny weight, equal to the veight of 3.2 grairls of heat, we-may cl£arly learn from that declaration in the I 8th of HENRY VIiII. when he abolinlcd that old pourld, and eRablifhed the Troy weight ;. which fays, that the Troy ?ound excee(leth the oldTower pourld by 4 of the -OllllCt.

As the Traypound eRalulifhed by TlENrY vIIIX zs the farrle as is now in ule, confifiing of 5 7 6o Troy grains, and 48 o grains to the ounce, and I 2 ounces to the pound: fo 36o grains is 4 of the oullce, whicl<, deduded from 5760 leaves 5400 Troy grains, equal to the weight of that old Saxon pollnd which he aboli{lrecl. But to trace out experimentally the.weight of that penny vwreight, raifed fFom 3 2 grains of wheat, I got a fmall fample-of dry vszheat of laS'c year I 7 7 3 (the wlleat of that year but or- dinary); and, from a little handful taken tllerefrom, I told out juR 96 round plump grains, dividing them into

VolF LXV. H parcels

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1 5o 3 prcels -of 3z graixls each, and all three wei«ed exadt z 2 2 Troy-grains; confequently? 240 fuch penny lxr eights, which the old pound corlElfced of were eqvlal only to s4oo of owlr prei:ent Troy graills) conformalule to the de- claration-of HENEY VIlI. Thus the weight ofthat old pound is clealely aScertailled to be lighter than the pre- lellt Troy pound by 4 of an ounce; and it clearly ffiewsfi tlley were two different weights. By tho:fe ilatutes of HENRY III. and EDWARD Io it iS . id that 8 polluds were tQ make a lrine gallonS and 8 of thofe gallons to be a buIhel and 8 bulEels a quarter; confequently the wine and corll gallonwere one and the fame nl-eafure. The ila- tute of the I xth of HENEY VII. fays, the gallon meafure was to be 8 poimds of wheatX which aScertains what ras to be 1lnderRood by brmer liatutes and is confonant to reafon, to fix the meafure of wheat by its own-weight xlot by that of wine, as wheat was an article of greater importance tc} the community to aScertain its meafure tharl wine; arld a galloll rneafure to contain 8 pounds of wheatX mtlflc- be 4 part larger in cubical contents than a neafure to contain 8 pounds of mrine. As it appears by the charter of WILLIAM the Gonqueror, that there were fealed flcan(lards made of weints and meafilres, we cannot doubt but they were preferved and kept in tlle king's exchequer) for legal liandards; and as feareral lia tutes dired?c their being made of metal they srere perma- nent and certain,whereby to make more: svhichHENRY

- Yll. exprefsly tells us he praftifed, by making nesr ac- cording to the old . fo that there could be no need- to re-

cxlr-

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C SI ]

mr to 3 grains of wheatt much leEs to 7 68oX wery time new Randards were to be made, unlefs we ippofe our anwSors defiEtive m common fenfe. Whenever, by new fl;atutes, frenl Randards vere direEted to be madeX we may obferve, the affilze of weight alld meafure con- titlued uniforluly fixed and defcribed to be one and the fame tc} nler there nvas llQ aIteration macle or irltendedv And thus, by the laws of Affilze fromwILLIsM the Con- queror to tlle reignof HENEY VII. the ltal-potludweight- continued a pound of I z ounces ralled fi;-om 3 2 grains of wheat and the l-egal galion meafore invariably to con tain 8 of thofe pounds of wheat, 8 gallons to make a

buillely md} 8 buIllels a quarter; the buAllel, therefore, tontained 64 of thoSe pounds of wheat and the quarter SI X wendsw Thek were the legal ssreights and mea- fures fcor CQmSOn uSe, during that peried. The firk al- terations really- lnade therein, was in the I zth year of HENRY YII. as will be mentioned hereafter. That the laws of Affilze were often infYinged is very evident from t-he frequentcoruplaintsmentioned in coTTossAbridge- me}xt of ie Tower Records agairlIt the killg's ptlrveyors; paNicularly in the I4th of EDWARD III. for remedy aganR ontrageous takings of purveyors; alld iathe 4sth of EDWARD IlI. that the king iliould be ferved by com- mon wevurey and ill-the 3d of HENEY V. that the kingM purveyors do take 8 bv 0hels af corn o4, to the qz£arter ed. The general anfmrers whereto werey that the lia- tutes Ihould be obServed. It appears alfoy that others irl- Ein$ed the laws of afElte For the lzcatute Qf z7th of

H z - EDEARD

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CEARD Itt. fays, Som.e merchants bought Avoirdupois merchandizes byoneweight, and fold by another; which plainly implies, they bought by fame veight heavier than the legal, and fold by the Iegal weight which was lighter; for it is rather tc)o abfurd for fuppofltion to im+gine they tought by -a light weight and fold by a heavier. The i:tatute, therefore, to inforce obServance of the lavs of afflze, only wills and efrabliIhes, that there be, one weigk>t, one ffle a02ff? and oneyard, through all the land. This can be un;derflcood to mean no other, than the legal aIIlLea which preceding ICatutes had enadietl. And firther, in the rtign of EfENRY VI. we fee that buyers of corny bollght by a veffiel, called a fitt, of g buillels, which con- taine(l 7 2 gallons; and like thofe merchants before men- tionedintheftatuteof EDWARD III.We mayprerume they bld by another meafilre, the legal quarter of 8 buthels, containing}ut 64-gallolls: for the Ratute of gth HENRY srI. forbids the buying by that veXel, calIed a fatt The pXhibition implies the illegality of the veISel and its uSey and implies alfo the inforcement of the laws of ailze Taking therefore all the feveral fratutes together, in one cormedred riew thofe that fix the laws of affilze, witl rhc,fe to reform abuSes committed againIt them, we are led to conclude, thofe laws of affilz.e continued uniformly oIie arld the fame, till HENRY VII. altered them. Having thus Illewn by thoSe laws, that the old pound weight was a Saxon pound of twelve oullces, raiI ed from 32 grains of wheat, and was equal only to 5400 of our pre- fent- Troy grams; and that the meafure of capaczty rvas

a gaIlon,

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:[ 53 ] a gallon, to contain 8 of tllofe pounds of wheat, and s of thofe gallons made a buIllel: I Ihall now endeavour, by help of figures, to demoniirate what was the wbical contents both of the galloll and.buShel meafures.

We know, the preIEnt Troy pound couflIts of 5 7 6 oTroy grains, and that 7 o o o of thofe Troy grains are equal to tlle prefent Avoirdupois pound of I 6 ounces, and that 5 4oo of thofeTroy grains are equal to the old Saxon pound of I z ounes; confequently, the old Saxon pound was of the prefentTroy poundt and the old Saxon pound nvas 7S40 of the prefentAvoirdupois pound. We know, mo- dern experiment hath proved the weight of I728 cubic inches of wheat, comluorl fort, to be 47 ̂ pounds Avoir dupois; and of a better fort, to weigh from 48-4- to 48g pounds Avoirdupois, the differersce in their weight is rsot very great; however, I will take the loweR weight to compute by, the 47t pounds Avoirdupois, which, in Saxon weight, is 6 I 54 pounds Saxon. And thell I Idy, as SI34poundsSaxon: 8poundsSaxon :: I7z8cubiclnches : 2 h42 cubic inches, for contents of the old Saxon gallan for wine and wvheat. But as the old Itandard wine gal- lon kept at Guildhall, and found there in I688, proves to be 2z4 cubic inches contentsX there is reafon to con- clude it to be of the fame flcandard ailze, as was the ancient Maxon gallon for wine and wheat: for, as I7 z8 cubic sn- ches: z z4 cubic illches :: 6 I s4 pounds Saxon: 7 5 3 pourlds Saxon, which is about 43 penrsy weights Ihort of the 8 pounds, mentioned in the Ratutes for the gallon to con- tair}, arld i5 fech a fmall eliffereIlce, as wmay atife in difi

rent

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[ 54 3

rYt ye in the we}ght -of fuch a quantity of wheat. The very nnr -agreemerst of th computations, gives B& fpf};dent re-afan to corKludes tlxat the old fiarilard uine gil&saf 554cubicinches contentss fowlnd atGuild- hall; m 688, was of Ean:ze Randard aIBlze as Bras the an- t gaIlon meaire ordalned to hold 8 Sax-on pounds of wheatt md of courfe then, thebuillel meaIuremuIt have 2)een I795 cubic inches contentsX which 5vill appear to ho-ld nearly 64 Saxon pounds of wheat, as by thoSe old Ratutes -it ought to do. For, as I 7 28 cubic inche$ : I 792 hic i-nches :* 6 I 3- 4 punds Saxon: 6 3 1 4 7 S pOUlldS Saxon,

wSch ls only about ounce and t-hweqtlarters Ihort of

64 pndls; d sn fo large -a quarltity of wheat is a -ifling diflisence, naturily ariIing in weight of wheat of d£se£ years. : TheSe demoriilcratioIls, by figures, cieMly proYes what the cubical contellts of thofe an- ci¢at Enghffi m-eaXres mu have been, according to the old :Ratutes of affilze; that is to lky, The gallon mearux, 224 cubic lmlches coutents, b hold & pound3 Saxon Ne bufhel i 17p2 dittos 64 dittoS

And as 8 buffie3s made a quarter, the quarter contained 5 X X Saxfn pounds of whvt Thefe were the -arlcient le$al meafuresy according to t-he oId laws of affil-ze.

It now remains to mention the particuIaer Itatute of the I xth of HENRY VII. der which, uan alteratioll wa.s brought about m thof@ anGteIlt 5veights and meafures without feerrung b intend it; as the £catute- itfelf differs mt in fubRanz from the other old laws of affilse, except ¢£ling the pound bya newaam8Troy. But previous

theretoy

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theretoX it may be nectIIary to obServe that very proba- blyS the unSettled I:tate of the kingdom for mally years preceding, might pave a way to that alteration. There had been feveral conteIls about the crown, between the tswo honfes of York and Lancaker, till HENEY VII. by conqueli, mounted the throne; arld in fuchtimes of pub- lic diflcurbanceS the laws of aMlze were more likely to be infFinged, than well kept. For, after HENRY VII. was svell fettled on his throne, we find complaint was made in the I xth year of his reign, that the laws of aiElze had not been obServed and kept Whereupon he made fitih ilandards of weights and nweafures, and Sent them to the feveral Ihires and Towns in the kingdomJ But in the rerynextyear (the T 2th of his-reign)2there came out that particular katlltetmderwhichtlleweights and meafures were altered. Reciting, that the king, in the former year, had made 43enghts and meajures of brags, according to the oId /iandards thereof? remaxnxng in his trev.fivry, which weights axld meafilres are faid OI1 a more diligent exi- nation, to have been approtped defeSiqve. It is rlot faid, whether they were the old Ilandard veights and mea fures or the new ones, made in the former year that had been approved defedive; nor how much they were Co: all this is left to conjeEture. Therefbre we mayb with great probabilityX conjeEttlre, they were not defec- tlYe in refpedc to their old original Ilandarzl; but anly ln refpeEt to- the heavier new Troy poulld, iIltended to be then introduced. And what warrants -fuch conjedure iss the exprefs declaratiors of his fon HENEY VIII. when he

1 abolinzed

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[ 56 ] a:bolilhed the old poundX m the I- 8 th of his- reign, ma -

bliflled the Troy; fie he then decIares} the tRroy pound exceedeth the old pound by 4 of an owice} This Sets the matter m a clear light and illelvs what the tsvo wveights wre, and what the difference betree-rt them. Hence then there can be no dalbt, btat Iix KY Y1I. Stered the >vltlEnglsh weightX alld introducetl a heavier Troy poundy tllat eedeclXthe old one by 4 of an otmce ;* and althougho ame of his Randard xreights have come dosvil to usy yet his brafi buillel meafllreX tithW his name upon it was Xnd in the Excheq in T 6 8 8 and pves tQ be*z I 4

cubic inches contents; ffom 5a-hich we may lirm conclu- fions, bth on his weights and mealis, ftlfficient to con sirsw us that he altered ithW That his buShel t a

meafure of g gallons infl:eaxlef 8, analthat his Troy pound was I16 part -heaner than the old Enfilblh pound which

was raiid 32 gs of X..eat. Eiment hffi

pnved that a meafure of I 7 z^8 cubw inCes of wheat, will weigh fFom 47{;! to about 484 pouxlds Avoirdupois; but fuppoX it be ollly 474 pds Avoirdepois that il;l Troy weightX will be 585'7' l?oidS Tr.oy. From hence we may eaXily fsd.the weight of wheat that hI45 cubic inches will contain. ForX as I 7 28 cubic irlches :wX TrM

cubic inches :: 5 8 pounds Troy: 7 2 pound& Troy the weight of wheat thAt HENRY vIIthss blela wollld Coll- tam. And dividmg the 7 z by 8 the number of I)ounds limlted by the llatte to a gallotl it prOv@$ H-ENRY VIIthM

bllnld wa$ a meafure of g gallons inkead of 8; and as 8 bls mbe a quarterX then the quaNer contatned ? 2

gallorls

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* s

w 7 J

gallons; this feems to aebond with the number of gallons contained in the veil} calleel a it, the vffie of which wm prohibited by Itatute ill HENRY VI6% tiMt

about 60 years l^ireHE:fRY VII as bth herei Xn ien i ready remarkecl. If *ve dinde the 2 tX mbw is

<coiitelltsiof the buShel by the number of gallons xt

colltained, it hews the gallon mealure to le - X 3 8 3 CAlbiG

iSches cont«tsy which is 1Ifi part larger than theeldSaxon gallonto f z24 cubic lnches, juR ln the pnportion as the Troy pound is st6 pt heavier than the old Saxon pound. The Itatute limits the gulloll to hold 8 pods Trozr of *heat; and S0 nre find the gallon of z383 cuKc inches willdo: foras z I45 CUbiC inches: 2 38 31 wbic indles :* 7 z

lsounds Troy : 8 pounals Troy. But if it be faid, the a..

ttlte limits the buDwel to 8 gallons not 9, then the gal- lon mealilre muI3c have been z688 cubic mches contents, and would hold 9 la3unds Troy of wheat} thcrugh the Ita- elte {\ys it ras to hokl bwlt 8 powulds Troy Take it *eitherwayS it Illews that the buShel was not tnade acoDnd- zngto the+Itaute; it held .7 z poun inftead of 64pounds AnA uwn the whole it deady proves, tllat HENEY VIta altered both the *vaghts and the meaSilres; that he intr ducel the lYoy ulrund hich lvas heaviex by 1 +of an oullce thall the Saxon or olul EngliCh pound and thM his buIhel meaire was about ^,tll part larger than the anclent Saxon or olxl EwliSh buihel meaXre. The firit Ilattlte that dds the uX of thte Avoifflupois sreght is that of the 24th of HENEY VIIIo hiO plainly im- plies it ras Ilo legal weight, till that Rattlte gave it a le - Sou LXY I gal

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[ 58 ] ga1 fanZtion; and the particula;r uSe b whxch ther d welght is th-ere dirded as flrnply for wesghing butchers- nzeat in the tnarkd.- And it is noteworthy, that in all the old Itatutes of ffi1YJe prior to XIENEY YXt. the legal gal- Ion meaire of capacity is fbunded on 8 ?ounds taifed from the sveight of 3 z g;rastls of wheatX and by that Ra- ttlte Vf I 2th HENRY YIt. the gaMon is t -contas 8 pds TrDy: thereforeZ thefe tsro forts of weight were the only ond elEbliffied as legal by th-e Rattes; and both are a lighter weight than Avoirdepois. HowX or when} the A+roirdupois ^reight c.ame firIt into private ufe is not. clearly lQnown to us; but this Seems cle-ar, that no atute before £he 2+th HENRY vIIt. hath gven it any legal fanc-" tion.

IV 1it..fl7

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