Rod Perch or Pole

I have been reading quite a few allotment blogs in the last few weeks and I must say that I have been impressed by the work the gardeners that rent them put in.

I am also aware from reading the daily toils of the allotmenteer that the allotment is more than a place in which to grow vegetables in. It conjures up a feeling of being a sanctuary, meeting place and swap shop. The sort of place man or women can retire to after a hard days work or to let off steam after a heavy week, where stress and frustration is lost as life is diverted into production.

Photos and information needed

I would be interested to hear about the history of the allotment and especially the way in which allotment plots are allocated. I see gardeners often mention the plots as being divided in areas of a 'rod'. A rod seems to be 25 square yards in area and I would like to explore this a bit more.

I would also love to get my hands on old photographs of allotments or even village shows to set up an album on Landscape Juice.

If anyone can help with photos, old village show programs, seed packets from yesteryear or old documents referring to the rental of allotments etc then I would love to hear from you.

There's no need to post anything. If you have a scanner or photos on digital then email them to me at Landscape Juice.

Comments

[Colin Malsingh]

If you want pictures, you can see one at:
http://www.pbase.com/cmalsingh/image/46634335

Colin

[Blaise]

You said

"I see gardeners often mention the plots as being divided in areas of a 'rod'. A rod seems to be 25 square yards in area and I would like to explore this a bit more."

A rod, also known as pole or a perch, is an obsolete unit of measure equal to 16.5 feet or 5.5 yards. People who talk about allotment sizes in rods are being sloppy with language, they mean *square* rods. One square rod is 5.5 x 5.5 = 30.25 square yards exactly. The definition of a yard these days is 0.9144 metres exactly, so that's 30.25 x 0.9144 x 0.9144 = 25.29 m² approximately. That's probably why you thought it was 25 square yards - someone must have told you it in square metres at some point and you mis-remembered it as square yards.

The rod has been illegal for use in trade since the 1960s but some Councils are still advertising plots for sale by the square rod. Trading Standards seem reluctant to prosecute since the Metric Martyrs cases of the early 2000s.


Blaise

[Philip Voice]

Blaise,

Thank you for this information and update on rod pole & perch.