Wynn Wheldon

Why is the barleycorn still the basis for shoe measurement?

There are many vagaries about measurements, says Claire Cock-Starkey: the length of the foot has often changed, but British shoe sizes hark back to the reign of Edward II

Shoe sizes in the UK and America are still measured in barleycorns. [Alamy]
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  • The Curious History of Weights and Measures

    Claire Cock-Starkey

    Bodleian Library, pp. 192, £14

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