Old Cornish units of measurement

Measurements formerly in use in Cornwall

Area

Cornish acre – 120 statute acres (or possibly 64), 8 score lease

Cornish ferling/farthing – ¼ a Cornish acre

Cornish lease – four sticks

Cornish stick – four yards, three yards square

Cornish Knight's fee – four Cornish acres

Cornish rod – 160 lace to a Cornish acre, 36sq. rods

Cornish lace – 18 ft square

Cornish land rod/lorgh – half a lace, 9 ft

Richard Carew's Survey of Cornwall (1602) says:^[1]

Commonly thirtie Acres make a farthing land, nine farthings a Cornish Acre, and foure Cornish Acres, a Knights fee. But this rule is ouerruled to a greater or lesser quantitie, according to the fruitfulnesse, or barrennesse of the soyle. That

Length

Cornish fathom – 5 ft

Cornish mile – 3.161803398 miles

Capacity/mass

Cornish bushel – 3 Winchester bushels for barley, wheat and potatoes, 18 gallons

Cornish gallon – 10 lb

Cornish apple gallon – 7 lb

Cornish metric gallon - 5 kg

Cornish ton/mining ton – 21 cwt

Cornish pound – 18 ounces (butter)

Fish

Cornish warp – 4 fish

Cornish burn – 21 fish

Cornish hundred – 132 fish

Cornish mease – 505 herring

Cornish cran – 800 herring

Cornish long hundred – 8 times 120+5 fish

Cornish last – 132,000 fish

Cornish ounce – 16th part (of either a sein of fish or property)

Sources

• Thornton B. Edwards, Cornish! a Dictionary of Phrases, Terms and Epithets Beginning with the word "Cornish", 2005.