Cripley Meadow Allotments Association

This is a 12 pole plot and we have a few of these but also many different sizes. Allotment plots in the UK come in the standard measure of 10 poles. The origins of the measurement of a pole is said to be the length of the back of the plough to the nose of the ox. Medieval ploughing was done with oxen, up to 4 pairs at a time. The ploughman handled the plough. His boy controlled the oxen using a stick, which had to be long enough to reach all the oxen. This was the rod, pole or perch. It was an obvious implement to measure the fields, such as 4 poles to the chain. So if you wanted to control the front ox, you needed a pole long enough to reach! The perch was used in the reign of Henry II (1154-1189), the pole since the 16C, and the rod since 1450. In the 16th century the lawful rod was decreed to be the combined length of the left feet of 16 men as they left church on a Sunday morning. A pole, rod or perch seem to be interchangeable and is about 5 paces or 5.5 yards.