The Composition of Yards and Perches () or the Statute of Ells and Perches was a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
English statute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
defining the length of the
barleycorn,
inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
,
foot
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...
,
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
, and
perch
Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...
, as well as the area of the
acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
. Its date has been estimated at 1266–1303.
The Latin text from the manuscript known as ''BL Cotton MS Claudius D 2'' is translated in
Ruffhead's ''
Statutes at Large
''The Statutes at Large'' is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions.
The expression "statutes at large" was first used in the edition of Barker published in 1587.
England and Great Bri ...
'') as
A similar statement is made in
Liber Horn
''Liber Horn'' is a book completed in 1311 by Andrew Horn. The National Archives (the official archive of the UK government) describes it as "a compilation of charters, statutes and customs". It is thought to have been a compilation of two separ ...
(as published in ''
The Statutes of the Realm
''The Statutes of the Realm'' is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen A ...
''):
The ''Composition of Yards and Perches'' belongs to a class of documents known as
Statutes of uncertain date
The statutes of uncertain date, also known as or ''Certain Statutes made during the Reigns of K. Henry 3. K. Edward 1. or K. Edward 2. but uncertain when or in which of their times'', are English statutes dating from the reigns of Henry III, E ...
generally thought to be from c. 1250 to 1305. Although not originally statutes, they gradually acquired the force of law. In some early statute books ''Composition of Yards and Perches'' was appended to another statute of uncertain date, the ''Statute for the Measuring of Land'' also known as ''Statutum de Admensuratione Terrase'', ''An Ordinance for Measuring of Land'', sometimes listed as ''33° Edward I. st. 6. (1305)''. The ''Composition of Yards and Perches'' was repealed by the
Weights and Measures Act 1824
Weights and Measures Acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. ...
(
5 Geo. 4. c. 74, par. 23).
See also
*
Weights and Measures Act
A weights and measures act is a kind of legislative act found in many jurisdictions establishing technical standards for weights and measures.
Notable acts of this type include:
* Various Weights and Measures Acts (UK) or the various legislative ...
s
References
{{UK legislation
English laws
Systems of units