Standards of Imperial Measurement – Bradford, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

There is a plaque next to the lengths with the following information.

STANDARDS of LENGTH
AT 62 degrees FARENHEIT
PLACED ON THIS SITE
BY THE
CORPORATION of the CITY of BRADFORD
MCMXIII
VERIFIED by the STANDARDS DEPT.
of the BOARD OF TRADE.

The date in Latin numerals is 1913, and around this time a number of towns and cities installed these standards of measure to enable disputes between traders and their customers to be settled using this publicly available information.

The main plaque has measures of ONE FOOT, TWO FEET, IMPERIALYARD at 62 degrees FAHT and ONE METRE at 0 degrees centigrade. Below these lengths there are also smaller, fainter measures marked for inches and millimetres.

There is also an inscription showing the manufacturers TROUGHTON & SIMMS LONDON 1913.

Also nearby, but separate there are measures for 100 feet (with some sub divisions) and 100 links (equivalent to a chain). A chain = 22 yards which is the length of a cricket pitch.

As well as being interesting in their own right, there is an interesting background story to this type of measurement standard. This website http://www.science20.com/florilegium/blog/imperial_units_length_melt_parliament_burns_science_trafalgar_square_london explains how in 1834 the Houses of Parliament in London burnt down and destroyed the existing set of measurement standards.

A commission was set up to recreate the standards and it was decided to have three sets of standards on public display in London. These were placed by the Board of Trade in Guildhall, the Greenwich Royal Observatory, and in Trafalgar Square.

It was only in later years that further copies were placed in other cities in the U.K.

Other Waymarks have been posted for two of the original standards of measure at Greenwich http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM92DW_Standards_of_Imperial_Measurement_in_UK_Greenwich and Trafalgar Square http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMC45Y_Standards_of_Imperial_Measurement_in_the_UK_Trafalgar_Square_London_UK

Type of Historic Marker: Standard Measurements of Length Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Corporation of The City of Bradford Age/Event Date: 01/01/1913 Give your Rating: Related Website: Not listed

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