This article is about historic units of volume measurement for wine in England until 1824 and later under the imperial and US customary systems. For beer and ale units of the same, see English brewery cask units.
Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1707. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon.
The major wine producing countries use barrels extensively and have developed standards at variance with the traditional English volumes that are commonly used in the wine and wine cooperage industries.[clarification needed] Examples include a hogshead of 300 L (66 imp gal; 79 US gal), a barrique of 220 L (48 imp gal; 58 US gal) (Bordeaux), a barrel of 225 L (49 imp gal; 59 US gal) (Australia), a barrel of 230 L (51 imp gal; 61 US gal) (Burgundy) and a puncheon of 465 L (102 imp gal; 123 US gal).[1]
The tun (Old English: tunne, Latin: tunellus, Middle Latin: tunna) is an English unit of liquid volume (not weight), used for measuring wine, oil or honey. It is typically a large vat or vessel, most often holding 252 wine gallons, but occasionally other sizes (e.g. 256, 240 and 208 gallons) were also used.[2]
The puncheon was a third of a tun. The term puncheon, shortened to pon in the United States, is thought to derive from the fact that it would have been marked by use of a punch to denote its contents.[citation needed] The unit was also known as a tertian (from the Latin word for "third").[2]
The rundlet was a seventh of a butt or a fourteenth of a tun.
Historyedit
Originally, the tun was defined as 256 wine gallons.[nb 1] (This was the basis for calling 64 gallons a quarter.) At some time before the 15th century, it was reduced to 252 gallons, so as to be evenly divisible by other small integers, including seven.[nb 2] Note that a 252-gallon tun of wine has a mass of approximately 2060 pounds,[5] between a short ton (2000 pounds) and a long ton (2240 pounds).
The tun is approximately the volume of a cylinder with both diameter and height of 42 inches, as the gallon was originally a cylinder with diameter of 7 inches and height of 6.[nb 3] The Queen Anne wine gallon of 231 cubic inches was adopted in 1707 and still serves as the definition of the US gallon. A US tun is then the volume or of a rectangular cuboid with dimensions 36 by 38.5 by 42 inches.
When the imperial system was introduced the tun was redefined in the UK and colonies as 210 imperial gallons. The imperial tun remained evenly divisible by small integers.[nb 4] There was also little change in the actual value of the tun.[nb 5]
^ abZupko, Ronald E. (1985). "A Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles: The Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century, Volume 168". Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society. 168. ISBN9780871691682. Quoting Gras (1918), p. 706
^. Archived from the original on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
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This article is about historic units of volume measurement for wine in England until 1824 and later under the imperial and US customary systems For beer and ale units of the same see English brewery cask units Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1707 In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon The major wine producing countries use barrels extensively and have developed standards at variance with the traditional English volumes that are commonly used in the wine and wine cooperage industries clarification needed Examples include a hogshead of 300 L 66 imp gal 79 US gal a barrique of 220 L 48 imp gal 58 US gal Bordeaux a barrel of 225 L 49 imp gal 59 US gal Australia a barrel of 230 L 51 imp gal 61 US gal Burgundy and a puncheon of 465 L 102 imp gal 123 US gal 1 Contents 1 Casks 1 1 Tun 1 2 Pipe or butt 1 3 Puncheon or tertian 1 4 Hogshead 1 5 Tierce 1 6 Barrel 1 7 Rundlet 2 History 3 See also 3 1 Economic 3 2 Liquors 3 3 Wine 4 Notes 5 ReferencesCasks edit nbsp Tun edit Main article Tun unit The tun Old English tunne Latin tunellus Middle Latin tunna is an English unit of liquid volume not weight used for measuring wine oil or honey It is typically a large vat or vessel most often holding 252 wine gallons but occasionally other sizes e g 256 240 and 208 gallons were also used 2 Pipe or butt edit The butt from the medieval French and Italian botte or pipe was half a tun or 126 imperial gallons 570 L Tradition has it that George Duke of Clarence the brother of Edward IV of England was drowned in a butt of malmsey on 18 February 1478 3 4 In Edgar Allan Poe s short story The Cask of Amontillado the narrator claims he has received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado citation needed In Edward Bulwer Lytton s novel Paul Clifford Lord Mauleverer states to Lawyer William Brandon Because he sent me in the handsomest manner possible a pipe of that wonderful Madeira which you know I consider the chief grace of my cellars and he gave up a canal navigation bill which would have enriched his whole county when he knew that it would injure my property citation needed Puncheon or tertian edit Main article Puncheon unit The puncheon was a third of a tun The term puncheon shortened to pon in the United States is thought to derive from the fact that it would have been marked by use of a punch to denote its contents citation needed The unit was also known as a tertian from the Latin word for third 2 Hogshead edit Main article Hogshead Of comparable size to the beer hogshead the wine hogshead was equal to half a butt or a quarter of a tun Tierce edit Main article Tierce unit Closely related to the modern oil barrel the tierce was half a puncheon a third of a butt or a sixth of a tun Barrel edit Main article Barrel unit The wine barrel was half a wine hogshead or an eighth of a tun Rundlet edit Main article Rundlet The rundlet was a seventh of a butt or a fourteenth of a tun History editOriginally the tun was defined as 256 wine gallons nb 1 This was the basis for calling 64 gallons a quarter At some time before the 15th century it was reduced to 252 gallons so as to be evenly divisible by other small integers including seven nb 2 Note that a 252 gallon tun of wine has a mass of approximately 2060 pounds 5 between a short ton 2000 pounds and a long ton 2240 pounds The tun is approximately the volume of a cylinder with both diameter and height of 42 inches as the gallon was originally a cylinder with diameter of 7 inches and height of 6 nb 3 The Queen Anne wine gallon of 231 cubic inches was adopted in 1707 and still serves as the definition of the US gallon A US tun is then the volume or of a rectangular cuboid with dimensions 36 by 38 5 by 42 inches When the imperial system was introduced the tun was redefined in the UK and colonies as 210 imperial gallons The imperial tun remained evenly divisible by small integers nb 4 There was also little change in the actual value of the tun nb 5 comparisons historically imperial definitions US definitionsmeasure tuns butts puncheons hogsheads tierces barrels rundlets litres nb 6 gallons litres nb 7 gallons litres nb 8 tun 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 6 1 8 1 14 950 960 210 954 68 252 953 92butt 2 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 7 475 480 105 477 34 126 476 96puncheon 3 1 1 2 1 3 4 1 2 3 8 3 14 316 320 70 318 23 84 317 97hogshead 4 2 1 1 3 1 2 3 1 2 2 7 237 240 52 1 2 238 67 63 238 48tierce 6 3 2 1 1 2 1 3 4 3 7 158 160 35 159 11 42 158 99barrel 8 4 2 2 3 2 1 1 3 1 4 7 118 120 26 1 4 119 33 31 1 2 119 29rundlet 14 7 4 2 3 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 3 4 1 68 69 15 68 19 18 68 14See also edit nbsp Liquor portal nbsp Wine portalEconomic edit Economy of England Food and drink industry in EnglandLiquors edit Gin English Whisky List of whisky distilleries in EnglandWine edit English sparkling wine English wine cask units Barrel Barrel unit Cubic ton English brewery cask units List of unusual units of measurement Tonnage Units of measurementNotes edit 256 28 252 22 32 7 The volume V of this cylinder may be approximated from the height h and the radius r as follows V pr2h 22 7 21 in 2 42 in since p 22 7 22 32 7 3 7 11 cu in 252 231 cu in 210 2 3 5 7 The imperial tun is only about 0 0792 larger than the US tun assuming current definitions Note that 5 imp gal 6 US gal The conversion to litres is approximate and given as a range to reflect the varying definitions of the gallon and the tun in terms of the gallon The conversion to litres shown in tooltips is exact assuming the current 4 54609 litre definition of the imperial gallon The conversion to litres shown in tooltips is exact assuming the current 25 4 millimetre definition of the international inch References edit http www apjohn com au Upload PrintPages AP 20John Technical Specifications pdf Web Archive a b Zupko Ronald E 1985 A Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles The Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century Volume 168 Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society American Philosophical Society 168 ISBN 9780871691682 Quoting Gras 1918 p 706 Dukes of Great Britain Archived from the original on 2013 02 18 Retrieved 2012 09 14 Biography Channel Duke of Clarence See Ethanol data page Properties of aqueous ethanol solutions Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English wine cask units amp oldid 1199515290 puncheon, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
