History of York

For hundreds of years the Merchant Adventurers held a monopoly over trade in York.  As such, they took it upon themselves to check the trading standards of other York merchants.  They used items like these weights, along with scales and rulers, to check the measures used by other merchants.

Lead was added or subtracted to the bottoms to make the weight exact, measuring them against standards in London.  They bear the stamp of Queen Elizabeth I for 1588 and 1618, and William IV during his reign.

These are on display in the Committee Room.