Weighing Instruments.
The Founders' Company exercised an oversight over weighing instruments and weights and had difficulties to contend with, for there were many irregularities and not a few differences in the standards used in various localities. The scales of traders of olden time were far from accurate, and there was abundant need of standard weights and measures such as were kept in some of the old country towns. Winchester and Exeter are two places where care has been taken of the old standards, and in both of these towns ancient standards may be seen. Similar standards formerly kept in other towns have been scattered, and not infrequently old specimens—obviously standards from the inscriptions upon them—are met with in private collections.
FIG. 56.—THE WINCHESTER BUSHEL (STANDARD MEASURE).
FIG. 57.—OLD MEASURES BASED ON THE WINCHESTER STANDARD.
(Sketched by permission of the Corporation of the City of Winchester.)
Those now in the Winchester Museum extend over a considerable period, ranging in antiquity from the reign of Henry III to Elizabeth. The original bushel which became the standard on which other measures were based is still preserved in Winchester. In the reign of Henry VII, one William Nele was commissioned to make further copies, on which the sum of fifty pounds was expended. The transaction was recorded in the State papers of 1486 as follows: "To William Nele, gunn founder and brasier of London, upon makyng of diverse measures and weights accordinge to the olde Standarde of Englande, to be sent into several shires and cities of Englande, accordinge to the King's commandment, and by the advice of the Counsaal at diverse tymes." The ancient bronze bushel of great historic interest is illustrated in Fig. 56. Among the other standards kept with the "bushel" in the Winchester Museum are those shown in Fig. 57—all measures based on similar standards. Tudor examples are also still in the possession of the local authorities at Norwich, Salisbury, Northampton, Southampton, and Exeter. Fig. 58 is another example of a pint measure, dated 1601, the crowned initials "E.R." upon it, of course, indicating "ELIZABETH REGINA." A later Winchester pint, dated 1704, is shown in Fig. 59.