The Standards Department was a department of the English

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

having the custody of the imperial standards of weights and measures.

History

As far back as can be traced, the standard weights and measures, the primary instruments for determining the justness of all other weights and measures used in the United Kingdom, were kept at the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government rev ...

, and the duties relating to these standards were imposed upon the chamberlains of the Exchequer. The office of chamberlains was abolished in 1826 using the

Receipt of the Exchequer Act 1783 A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or propert ...

, but the custody of the standards and any duties connected to them remained attached to an officer in the Exchequer until that department was abolished by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866. Meanwhile, in pursuance of recommendations of Standard Commissions of 1841 and 1854 and a

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

committee of 1862, the

Standards of Weights, Measures, and Coinage Act 1866 The Standards of Weights, Measures, and Coinage Act 1866 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Details The act created a department of the Board of Trade called the Standard Weights and Measures Departm ...

was passed. This act created a special department of the Board of Trade, called the Standard Weights and Measures Department, and a head of that department styled the Warden of the Standards. His duty was to conduct comparisons, verifications and operations with reference to the standards in aid of scientific research and otherwise.

Standards Department The Standards Department was a department of the English Board of Trade having the custody of the imperial standards of weights and measures. History As far back as can be traced, the standard weights and measures, the primary instruments for ...

" in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', 11th ed. (1911).

Directors

Henry Williams Chisholm Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, warden of the standards (1866–1878), father of Hugh Chisholm * Henry James Chaney (March 1842–13 February 1906), superintendent of weights and measures (1878–1906).

References

Bibliography

* " Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Privy Council of the United Kingdom Standards organisations in the United Kingdom {{UK-gov-stub