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After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror introduced a new sytem of

measurement: the system of English units. This one was a combination of the Anglo-Saxon

and Roman systems: the Anglo-Saxon of measurement had been based on the units of the

barleycorn and the gyrd (rod).

In 1215, feudal barons obliged King John (1199-1216) to accept a series of

concessions which were consigned in a baptized charter “Magna Carta”, big charter in Latin.

This is the British constitutional document most known.

Sixty and one articles clearly specify the rights of the population against the Crown.

Here the thirty-fifth:

"There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges. Weights are to be standardised similarly."

See the manuscript Magna Carta of the British Library and don't hesitate to magnify the details.