Historical units

for reference

Old English Units

Ref.: A Complete System of Practical Arithmetic, 1869
(Scottish School-Book Association)

Cloth Measure
Marked
in	2 ¼ inches = 1 nail
nl	4 nails = 1 quarter
qr	4 quarters = 1 yard (yd)
Fl. e	3 quarters = 1 Flemish ell
Eng. e	5 quarters = 1 English ell
Fr. e	6 quarters = 1 French ell
Sc. e	37 in = 1 Scotch ell

Old Wine Measure
		Cub. Inch	Imp. Gall.	Imp. pint
	1 pint	28·875	0·10414	0·83
2 pints	1 quart	57·75	0·20828	1·67
4 quarts	1 gallon	231	0·83311	6·66
To convert Old into Imp multiply by 0·83311
To convert Imp into Old multiply by 1·20032

(Ed: Imperial Pints column added)

Old Beer and Ale Measure
		Cub. Inch	Imp. Gall.	Imp. pint
	1 pint	35 ¼	0·12713	1·02
2 pints	1 quart	70 ½	0·25426	2·03
4 quarts	1 gallon	282	1·01705	8·14
To convert Old into Imp multiply by 1·01705
To convert Imp into Old multiply by 0·98324

Old Dry Measure
		Cub. Inch	Imp. Gall.
	1 pint	33·6	0·12118
2 pints	1 quart	67·2	0·24236
4 quarts	1 gallon	268·8	0·96945
8 gallons	1 bushel	2150·4	7·75557
To convert Old into Imp multiply by 0·96945
To convert Imp into Old multiply by 1·03151

Heaped Measures
For lime, coals, fish, potatoes, fruit etc
Marked
gall	2 gallons = 1 peck
pks	4 pecks = 1 bushel
bush	3 bushels = 1 sack
sks	12 sacks = 1 Chaldron (chal.)
The above mentioned goods are likewise sold by weight

cubic inch	Gal.
351·936	1	Peck
703·872	2	1	Bush
2815·488	8	4	1	Sack
8446·466	24	12	3	Chaldron
101357·593	288	144	36	12	1

Yarn Measure
Cotton Yarn	Lint Yarn
54 inches = 1 thread	90 inches = 1 thread
80 threads = 1 skein or rap	120 threads = 1 cut
7 skeins = 1 hank	2 cuts = 1 heer
18 hanks = 1 spindle	6 heers = 1 hasp
	4 hasps = 1 spindle
The ounce thread reel is only 36 inches and 30 such threads make one hank