
A vergée (, alternative spellings vergie, vrégie) is a unit of land area, a quarter of the old French ''
arpent
An arpent (, sometimes called arpen) is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman ''actus''. It is used in Quebec, some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana, and in Mauritius ...
''. The term derives from Latin ''virga'' (rod).
Compare
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
''verge'' (yard).
In the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
, it is a standard measure of land, but the statutory definition differs between the
bailiwick
A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ.
In English, the original French combi ...
s.
*In
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, a vergée was 12,100 square Paris feet (1,276.8 m
2), equal to 25 square perches. The
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...
perch measured 22 French feet.
*In
French North America
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under ...
, it was also equal to 25 square perches, but the royal perch of 18 feet was used, yielding a ''vergée'' of 8100 square feet (854.7 m
2)
*In
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
, a vergée (
Guernésiais
Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...
: vergie) is 17,640 square feet (1,639 m
2). It is 40 (square) Guernsey perches. A Guernsey perch (also spelt perque) is 21 feet by 21 feet.
*In
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
, a vergée (
Jèrriais
( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...
: vrégie) is 19,360 square feet (1,798.6 m
2). It is 40 (square) Jersey perches. A Jersey perch (also spelt pèrque) is a square 24 ''pied de perche'' on each side (i.e. a square 22 imperial feet on each side).
Unusual Jersey Measures
Conversions
1 vergée (Guernsey) is equivalent to:
*1 638.80963 m2
*0.404958678 acres
1 vergée (Jersey) is equivalent to:
*1,798.60285 m2
*0.444444444 acres
See also
*Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution
The traditional French units of measurement prior to metrication were established under Charlemagne during the Carolingian Renaissance. Based on contemporary Byzantine units of measurement, Byzantine and Ancient Roman units of measurement, ancie ...
*Virgate
The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal to 30 acr ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vergee
Channel Islands
Customary units of measurement
Units of area
Standards of France