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From: CHRISTINE WILLOTT <>
Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] rods, polls,peches and acres Hope this is of some help
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:20:16 +0000 (GMT)


Dear All,

Many thanks for all your answers.

I was brought up to think in 'old money' but this is something else! To think that land measures varied in different parts of the country!

It  reminds of reading once that railways coming standardised the time in the country.

I can now add up Stephen Foster's total acreage. I used to wonder how a tenant farmer from poor upland in Nidderdale got to the better land near Ripon. When at Yorksgen last year, I went to WYAS in Wakefield and copied all the land tax returns for Stonebeck Up and Down. I found he probably moved at the time of the Napoleonic wars when farmers were doing rather well.

Thanks again for the help.

Chris



----- Original Message ----
From: J. Dudley Swale <>
To:
Cc: CHRISTINE WILLOTT <>; ; T J Neylon <>;
Sent: Saturday, 11 October, 2008 10:56:06 PM
Subject: Re: [YORKSGEN] rods, polls, peches and acres Hope this is of some help

Christine

The figures which you quote are for square measurement (the measurement of
area lather than of length)

The R is not rods, poles or perches but ROODS a rood was an area usually
equivalent to 40 square rods (but there were local variations in this).

If you are dealing with land in Yorkshire you can be reasonably sure that 40
sq rods or sq poles = 1 Rood and that 4 Roods = 1 acre.

Rood is the commonest mediaeval word for a cross and was a way of dividing
anything up by drawing a cross on it thus cutting it into quarters hence 1
rood was usually a quarter of an acre.

Jack Dudley Swale


On Saturday 11 October 2008 22:33, CHRISTINE WILLOTT wrote:
> Thanks, but what I want to do is to add up his total acreage. It's easy to
> add the acres (like adding hundreds) but how do??I carry forward the tens
> and units (equivalent)? What are the denominations for the lesser
> measures?? At what point does a collection of one unit become one of the
> next larger one?
>
> for example from the document
>
> Fiddle case field is 3 acres, 3 rods and 10 poles
> Par Sell Stubbs field is 6 acres, 3 rods and 21 poles
>
> I am assuming on the doucment A = acres, R??= rods and P = poles or
> perches?? which?
>
> How do I add this up?
> Thanks
>
> Chris

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