The Standards of Weights, Measures, and Coinage Act 1866 was an Act of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

Details

The act created a department of the Board of Trade called the Standard Weights and Measures Department. This department was responsible for maintaining the weights and measures used in the country – in particular, the primary and secondary

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

s, the physical "master" weights and lengths that other measuring devices could be compared against. These had previously been the responsibility of the Exchequer.

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References

* * {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1866