Quarter (unit)

The quarter (lit. "one-fourth") was used as the name of several distinct English units based on ¼ sizes of some base unit.

The "quarter of London" (Latin: quarterium Londoniense) mentioned by Magna Carta as the national standard measure for wine, ale, and grain was ¼ ton or tun. It continued to be used, e.g. to regulate the prices of bread. This quarter was a unit of 8 bushels of 8 gallons each, understood at the time as a measure of both weight and volume: the grain gallon or half-peck was composed of 76,800 (Tower) grains weight; the ale gallon was composed of the ale filling an equivalent container; and the wine gallon was composed of the wine weighing an equivalent amount to a full gallon of grain.

Length

In measures of length, the quarter (qr.) was ¼ of a yard, formerly an important measure in the cloth trade. 3 qr. was a Flemish ell, 4 quarters were a yard, 5 qr. was an (English) ell, and 6 qr. was an aune or French ell. Each quarter was made up of 4 nails. Its metric equivalent was formerly reckoned as about 0.228596 m, but the International Yard and Pound Agreement set it as 0.2286 exactly in 1959.

Weight

The modern statutory definition of Imperial units, the Weights and Measures Act 1985 as amended by The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994, defines the quarter as a unit of mass equal to 28 pounds.

In measures of weight and mass at the time of Magna Carta, the quarter was 1⁄4 ton or (originally 500 pounds).^{[citation needed]} By the time of the Norman French copies of the c. 1300 Assize of Weights and Measures, the quarter had changed to 512 lbs. These copies describe the "London quarter" as notionally derived from eight "London bushels" of eight wine gallons of eight pounds of 15 ounces of 20 pennyweights of 32 grains of wheat, taken whole from the middle of an ear; the published Latin edition omits the quarter and describes corn gallons instead.

The quarter (qr. av. or quartier) came to mean 1⁄4 of a hundredweight: 2 stone or 28 avoirdupois pounds (about 12.7 kg): this is its (only) statutory definition since 1993.

It is still used to indicate the weight of bells, whose weight are usually given in the form "cwt-qrs-lbs". cwt indicates a hundredweight (112 lb), so a 'quarter' is 28 lb.

Colloquial usage

In Britain and Ireland, "quarter" was also a common shortening of "quarter-pound," (113 grams) when selling food by weight, such as sweets.

Volume

The Weights and Measures Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 74) declared that, for measures of liquids and unheaped dry volume, a 'quarter' equals eight bushels (64 imperial gallons (290.95 L), where a gallon is defined as a volume of water weight ten troy pounds). The term pail is also used for this unit of dry volume. The 1824 Act delegitimised all previous definitions.

The Weights and Measures Act 1985 (as amended) no longer shows the quarter as a unit of volume: an 1825 quarter of wheat would weigh about 494 lb (224 kg), substantially more than the 1985 definition.

In measures of liquid volume at the time of Magna Carta, the quarter of wine was (originally) ¼ tun: 8 London bushels or 64 wine gallons (242.27 L) . The tun was subsequently redefined as 252 gallons, and the quarter was effectively ¼ pipe or butt. The quarter of wine was a gallon larger than a hogshead: since the wine gallon was considered to be 231 cubic inches, the measure was 242.27 litres.

The ale gallon was 282 cubic inches, meaning the quarter of ale was 295.75 litres.

Cardarelli also says it can vary from 17 to 30 imperial gallons for liquor.

Notes

↑ Although not enacted in the United Kingdom until 1963.
↑ The density of wheat is 0.770, and a quarter by volume (64 gallons) equates to 290.95 litres, which multiplied by 0.770 gives 224 kilograms (494 lb).

References

Citations

↑ 9 Henry III c. 25 (1225).
↑ 51 Hen. III st. 1. (1266)
1 2 3 Stockton (1823), p. 26.
1 2 3 Wormell (1868), p. 68.
1 2 Rutter (1866), p. 12.
1 2 "The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
↑ Reynardson (1756), p. 1361.
↑ "Tractatus de Ponderibus et Mensuris", Sizes.com, retrieved 25 September 2014.
↑ Adams, John Quincy (1821), Report upon Weights and Measures: Prepared in Obedience to a Resolution of the Senate of the Third March, 1817, Washington: Gales & Seaton.
↑ Ruffhead, Owen, ed. (1763a), The Statutes at Large, vol. I: From Magna Charta to the End of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth. To which is prefixed, A Table of the Titles of all the Publick and Private Statutes during that Time, London: Mark Basket for the Crown, pp. 148–149. (in English) & (in Latin) & (in Norman)
↑ Cardarelli (2003), p. 34 & 37.
↑ "Bell Ringing - Bell Weight". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
↑ "Bell Weights". Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
↑ "UK's Top Online Sweet Shop: Old & Traditional | AQuarterOf". A Quarter Of. May 20, 2026.
↑ "What Is A Quarter Of Sweets?".
↑ "An Act for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures (17 June 1824)" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 17 June 1824. p. 639,640. Retrieved 19 January 2020. Two such Gallons shall be a Peck, and Eight such Gallons shall be a Bushel, and Eight such Bushels a Quarter of Corn or other dry Goods, not measured by Heaped Measure.. (The date of coming into effect was 1 May 1825).
↑ "Volume measures".
↑ "Bulk densities of some common food products". engineeringtoolbox.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
1 2 3 Reynardson (1756), p. 1356.
↑ Cardarelli (2003), p. 34.
↑ Reynardson (1756), p. 1357–1358.
↑ QR (1827), p. 141.
↑ Cardarelli (2003), p. 46.

Bibliography

Cardarelli, François (2003), Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins, London: Springer, ISBN 978-1-4471-1122-1.
"Art. VI.—1. Report upon Weights and Measures. By John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State of the United States. Prepared in obedience to a Resolution of the Senate of the 3d March, 1817. Washington. 1821. 2. An Account of the Construction and Adjustment of the new Standards of Weights and Measures of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. By Captain Henry Kater, F.R.S. Phil Trans. for 1826.", The Quarterly Review, vol. XXXVI, No. LXXI, London: W. Clowes for John Murray, pp. 139–167, 1827.
Reynardson, Samuel (1756), "A state of the English weights and measures of capacity, as they appear from the laws as well ancient as modern; with some considerations thereon; being an attempt to prove that the present Avoirdepois weight is the legal and ancient standard for the weights and measures of this kingdom", The Philosophical Transactions (From the Year 1743, to the Year 1750) Abridged and Disposed under General Heads. The Latin Papers being translated into English, vol. X, London: Lockyer Davis & Charles Reymers.
Rutter, Henry (1866), "Measures of Length: III.—Cloth Measure converted into Metric", The Metric System of Weights and Measures compared with British Standard Weights and Measures in a Complete Set of Comparative Tables; also, Tables of Equivalent Prices under the Two Systems; and of Chinese and Indian Weights compared with Metric Weights, etc., London: Royal Exchange. (in English) & (in French)
Stockton, A.M. (1823) [Reprinted 1839], "Cloth Measure", The Western Calculator, or a New and Compendious System of Practical Arithmetic; containing the Elementary Principals and Rules of Calculation in Whole, Mixed, and Decimal Numbers Arranged, Defined, and Illustrated, in a Plain and Natural Order; Adapted to the Use of Schools, throughout the Western Country and Present Commerce of the United States, 4th ed., Pittsburgh: J. Howe for Johnston & Stockton.
Wormell, Richard (1868), "87. Cloth Measure", Murby's Graduated Arithmetic, Specially Adapted to the Requirements of the Revised Code, London: Thomas Murby, p. 68.

[6] Although not enacted in the United Kingdom until 1963.

[20] The density of wheat is 0.770, and a quarter by volume (64 gallons) equates to 290.95 litres, which multiplied by 0.770 gives 224 kilograms (494 lb).

[1] 9 Henry III c. 25 (1225).

[2] 51 Hen. III st. 1. (1266)

[FOOTNOTEStockton182326-3] 1 2 3 Stockton (1823), p. 26.

[FOOTNOTEWormell186868-4] 1 2 3 Wormell (1868), p. 68.

[FOOTNOTERutter1866[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidrJMBAAAAQAAJpgPA12_12]-5] 1 2 Rutter (1866), p. 12.

[1994Reg-7] 1 2 "The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-03-13.

[FOOTNOTEReynardson1756[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid29tfAAAAcAAJpgPA1361_1361]-8] Reynardson (1756), p. 1361.

[sizes2-9] "Tractatus de Ponderibus et Mensuris", Sizes.com, retrieved 25 September 2014.

[jqa-10] Adams, John Quincy (1821), Report upon Weights and Measures: Prepared in Obedience to a Resolution of the Senate of the Third March, 1817, Washington: Gales & Seaton.

[tract-11] Ruffhead, Owen, ed. (1763a), The Statutes at Large, vol. I: From Magna Charta to the End of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth. To which is prefixed, A Table of the Titles of all the Publick and Private Statutes during that Time, London: Mark Basket for the Crown, pp. 148–149. (in English) & (in Latin) & (in Norman)

[FOOTNOTECardarelli200334_&_37-12] Cardarelli (2003), p. 34 & 37.

[13] "Bell Ringing - Bell Weight". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2026-09-04.

[14] "Bell Weights". Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-04.

[15] "UK's Top Online Sweet Shop: Old & Traditional | AQuarterOf". A Quarter Of. May 20, 2026.

[16] "What Is A Quarter Of Sweets?".

[17] "An Act for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures (17 June 1824)" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 17 June 1824. p. 639,640. Retrieved 19 January 2020. Two such Gallons shall be a Peck, and Eight such Gallons shall be a Bushel, and Eight such Bushels a Quarter of Corn or other dry Goods, not measured by Heaped Measure.. (The date of coming into effect was 1 May 1825).

[18] "Volume measures".

[19] "Bulk densities of some common food products". engineeringtoolbox.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

[FOOTNOTEReynardson1756[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid29tfAAAAcAAJpgPA1356_1356]-21] 1 2 3 Reynardson (1756), p. 1356.

[FOOTNOTECardarelli200334-22] Cardarelli (2003), p. 34.

[FOOTNOTEReynardson1756[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid29tfAAAAcAAJpgPA1357_1357–1358]-23] Reynardson (1756), p. 1357–1358.

[FOOTNOTEQR1827[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidfqZZAAAAcAAJpgPA141_141]-24] QR (1827), p. 141.

[FOOTNOTECardarelli200346-25] Cardarelli (2003), p. 46.