corn gallon

British unit of measurement

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The corn gallon was an old British unit of capacity. It was equivalent to 272.25 cubic inches or 4.46 liters. This unit was part of the broader British Imperial System, which evolved from medieval measures and was officially used in Great Britain from 1824 until the adoption of the metric system. The United States Customary System is derived from the British Imperial System. The British Imperial System has undergone several reforms, with the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 establishing a single imperial gallon to replace earlier wine, ale, and corn gallons.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

measurement system
The English system
There were also a corn gallon and an older, slightly smaller wine gallon. There were many other attempts made at standardization besides these, but it was not until the 19th century that a major overhaul occurred.
Read More
There were also a corn gallon and an older, slightly smaller wine gallon. There were many other attempts made at standardization besides these, but it was not until the 19th century that a major overhaul occurred.
Read More