Difference between revisions of "Weights and Measures"

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Weights & Measures

Purpose of this page

This page provides a dictionary of weights and measures taken from mid-C17th High Court of Admiralty documents.

MarineLives project members are encouraged to add to the terms listed and to add short illustrative snippets from sample transcriptions available at Admiralty Court Cases. The appropriate HCA reference, together with folio number, if available, should be noted in brackets after the snippet.

Suggested links

See Abbreviations
See Alphabet of ships
See Commodities
See Common Latin Phrases
See Currency and Specie
See Geographical and Place Terms
See Legal & Commercial Terms
See Marine Terms

Index

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z

B

Bags (= bagges) (e.g. pepper) (1. "to be laded aboard her for the said companies use and account, containing fiftie foure baggs of pepper which weighed 3896 pounds net English weight" (HCA 13/73); 2. "whatsoever bills of ladeing are in the bagges"^[1]
Baggs (1. "having already received and laden aboard her one hundred baggs of wool and 400 baggs and upwards of gaulls" (HCA 13/71 f.?19r); 2. "Ciprus cotton woolls are usually and ordinarily putt in very great baggs, which cannot be stowed without very great paines and difficulty" (HCA 13/71 f.?19r))
Bahaire ("this deponent went in the Bantam ffrigots boate ashore, and there caused about a bahaire of pepper to be put on board the said Boate" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Bahaizes ("this deponent had sent out the foresaid 672 bahaizes of pepper on board the Bantam ffrigot (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Balazares ("the foresaid six hundred seaventy two balarzes of pepper" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Bales "three bales of linnen marked as farr as this deponent can now remember with an R. or some such like marke, which three bales the sayd Claviel told this deponent then standing upon the Strand" (HCA 13/79 no f.))
Barrs ("severall parcells of silver in barrs)^[2]
Barrells (= barrels; barrills) (e.g. raisins; 1. "17 barrells of starch"; 2. "some barrell of sugar carryed frō the howses of the producent towards the waterside to be so laden")
Barrill (= barrell; barrel) ("one barrill of beaver and other skinnes marked at the margent" (HCA 13/71 f.43v))
Baskets (e.g. raisins; "two basketts of druggs" (HCA 13/73))
Boards (e.g. timber; "860 four foot boards)
Bundles (e.g. hemp; "68 bundles of hemp"; "bundles of rough hemp" (HCA 15/6 Box Two))
Butts (e.g. sherrie sack; "the true and lawfull owner of the said seaven and fortie butts of sack")

C

C weight
Caske ("28 Caske of allom")
Cedar chests
Chaldren ("how many chaldren of the said coales did hee burne at Tangier, and how many chaldren did hee carry away in the said shipp from thence, and why did hee carry away the said coales, was it not bee cause hee wanted wood or other fowell for the said shipps use" (HCA 23/19, no f.))
Chests (sugar; "chests of indico and druggs" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Clapboards
Coyle ("thirty coyles of rope" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))

D

Dutch miles

E

English miles
English weight

F

Firkin (small cask, originally = a quarter of a barrel) ("three hundred firkins of butter" (HCA 13/69 no f.))
Fraile (basket made of rushes for carrying raisins, figs, etc., or the weight of fruit that fits in a frail) ("six basketts or frailes of figgs" (HCA_13/72_f.279r))

G

Gallons ("hee beleeveth that he e hath drunke about five gallons of the Godliffs wine" (HCA 13/76 f.25v))
Genoa weight
Great trunks ("thirty quoyles of rope two great trunks, severall quarter caskes with [?XXXX] and oyle, and barrells of pitch and tarre, and some other things which were for the said Woods owne private trade and account" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))

H

Hogsheads abbr. hhds (e.g. wines)
Hundred weight ("two hogsheads of Barbadas sugars doe ordinarils containe nine hundred weight of sugar" (HCA 13/64 f.24v))
Hydes ("at the time arlate the boatswaine of the Little Lewis did being did (sic), being demanded what hydes were received aboard the said ship reply and say three hundred and thirty or thereaboutes but that since hee haveing perursed his booke doth find that there were laden aboard the sayd shipp in all but three hundred twenty one some where of were whole dryed hydes in hayre, and some were sydes of leather tann'd which hee reckoned and accompted as hydes severally though in truth they were but half hydes" (HCA 13/19))

K

Kintal
Kintall (= quintall) ("one hundred and twenty kintalls of ffish" (HCA 13/73))

L

Last ("he beleeveth that every last of the sayd salmon conteined 12: barrels" (HCA 13/129))
Leagues
London measure

M

Matt pl. mattes ("12 ?mattes of flaxe")
Miles

N

Neat weight
Newcastle measure
Norway miles

O

Ounces

P

Pack ("five packs of linnen marked and numbred as in the margin" (HCA 13/68))
Packett
Parcell (= parcel; prcell; pcell) ("a parcell of flax to be brought unto Roscoe"; a parcell of tarre brought to this port of London in a shippe called the ffortune (HCA 13/125))
Peeces
Piggs ("piggs of silver") (HCA 23/19: the Mayfflower) ("piggs of lead")
Pipes (of wine, e.g. Canary) ("10 pipes of sugar")) A pipe is half a ton.
Pipestaves
Potacoes ("some few polacoes of tobacco") (HCA 13/68)
Poundes
Pounds (e.g. cocheneal)
Puncheon (a container for e.g. wine or tobacco) ("fifteene punchions of pruans" HCA 13/71 f.237v.)
Punchions

Q

Quarter caskes ("severall quarter caskes of wine and oyle" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Quarters ("quarters of wheat")
Quintalls (= kintalls) ("200 quintalls of Brazill wood" (HCA 13/73))
Quoyle ("thirty quoyles of rope two great trunks, severall quarter caskes with XXX and oyle, and barrells of pitch and tarre, and some other things which were for the said Woods owne private trade and account" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))

R

Rames ("Theise goods laden are as followeth eight pipes of Oporto wynes whereof, two are white, one ?eager, A bale cont 32: rames of white writing paper a packett 20. peeces of pintados which here sell at 50: li two chests of fine earthen ware a parcell of course earthen ware a parcell of salt" (HCA 13/128 no fol. no. recto, Allegation: Edmund & James Cowse: Answer: Daniell ?Jiggles: Date: 1st November 1655))
Roll (e.g. tobacco)
Rotuloes

S

Sea miles
Serons
Skinne baggs ("at Honduras tooke in and received aboard indigo and druggs (as they were said to be) in chests and ?skinne baggs" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Skinnes
Small barrell ("143 small barrells. of brandy att 11: li 19: s per barrell and to in sterling mony. 10: s ?6: d. per barrell" (HCA 13/128)
Spanish yardes
Sticks "whither hee doth not know beleeve or hath heard that the said fower tonnes and ten sticks of logwood were sold by the said Jeremiah Sweetman or some other of the said English that arrived in the said Shippe unto some of the inhabitants of Barnstaple Biddeford or ?Northam before the same were arrested by authority of this Court" (HCA 23/19 no fol. no.))
Sydes ("some were sydes of leather tann'd which hee reckoned and accompted as hydes severally though in truth they were but half hydes" (HCA 13/129, no fol. no., Case: XXXX: Answer: XXXX: Date: XXXX))

T

Take not weight
Thousand weight
Tonn ("> ½ Tonns of Rochell wines att 60: li the tonn french mony and in English mony 4: li. 3: s. 4: d per tonn" (HCA 13/128)
Tonne ("the sayd 13 thousand livre was for and towards satisfaction and payment for the 221 tonnes of wynne arlate" (HCA 13/69 no f.))
Tunn ("the said tonns of tallow were worth the summe of 34: li the tonn and noe more" (HCA 13/125)
Trunks ("thirty quoyles of rope two great trunks, severall quarter caskes with [?XXXX] and oyle, and barrells of pitch and tarre, and some other things which were for the said Woods owne private trade & account" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Trunkes
Trunckes ("two trunckes" (HCA 13/73 Part Two))
Trusse ("a trusse or small bale of merchandizes" (HCA 13/72 f.20v))

W

Wainscotts

Y

Yardes

1. ↑ HCA 13/64 f.6v
2. ↑ [[HCA 13/71 f.372v Annotate|HCA 13/71 f.372v