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Winchester measure is a set of legal standards of volume defined in the city of Winchester, England during the tenth century and in use, with some modifications, until the present day.
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National standard
During the tenth century the capital city of the English king, Edgar, was at Winchester and at his direction the first standard measures of dry volume, for the bushel and its dependent quantities the peck, gallon and quart, were made and held at court. Although the city lost its pre-eminence to London soon after the Norman Conquest, whenever the national standards (by then including weight and length) were reaffirmed it was by reference to the Winchester standards.
The continued use of the Winchester measure was assured in 1670, when a statute decreed that it alone could be used for grain and salt offered for sale in England, although by then the marked container defining the Winchester bushel was held at The Exchequer in London. In 1824 a new Act was passed, in which the gallon was defined as the volume of ten pounds of pure water at 62 °F, with the other units of volume changing accordingly. The "Winchester bushel", which was some 3% smaller than the new bushel (eight new gallons), was retained in the English grain trade until formally abolished in 1835. In 1836 the United States Department of the Treasury formally adopted the Winchester bushel as the standard for dealing in grain and, defined as 2,150.42 cubic inches, it remains so today.
Original measures in the city museum
None of Edgar's standard measures, which were probably made of wood, remains but the city's copy of the standard yard, although stamped with the official mark of Elizabeth I, may date from the early twelfth century, during the reign of Henry I. Preserved standard weights date from 1357 and, although the original bushel is lost, a standard bushel, gallon and quart made of bronze, issued in 1497 and stamped with the mark of Henry VII are still held.
See also
References
- Stevenson, Maurice. Weights and Measures of the City of Winchester, Winchester Museums Service
- Oxford English Dictionary: Winchester
- British History Online, University of London
- Encyclopædia Britannica: British Imperial System
- "Official United States Standards for Grain". United States Department of Agriculture (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
External links
- Standard Henry VII Winchester bushel, 1497-1509. Image from Science Museum, London
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 25 September 2008, at 17:41.
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