This carpenter's ruler, made of maple wood because it is very strong, is inscribed with the date 1635, which might mark the year of its making or perhaps commemorate a significant event in its owner's life, like finishing an apprenticeship. It was found during excavations by Canterbury Archaeological Trust in the ceiling at Longport House, Newington near Folkestone, when the house was dismantled to make way for the Channel Tunnel and rebuilt at the Weald and Downland Museum. It measures 24 inches in length and has increments marked on one side and decorative patterns carved into the other. Middling men and women often owned tools that had both a practical function and aesthetic appeal, and they may well have made and decorated them themselves, personalising them for use in ways that were pleasing but also facilitated their identification if lost or stolen. The carpenter that lost this ruler at Longport House clearly took pride in the tools of their trade. A technique called mastic and punching was used to decorate the ruler – a skill used by joiners.<br /> <br /> A rule such as this would have helped its owner to measure timber in multiples of its length, without needing much expertise in mathematics. Follow this link to the <a href='https://unlockingourpast.co.uk/finds/carpenters-rule/#' target='_blank'>Canterbury Archaeological Trust</a> site to read a quote from Dr Stephen Johnston from the Museum of History of Science (University of Oxford) about how craft practices related to practical maths in this period. We can connect this object to the ‘how to’ books which were a very popular publishing phenomenon, offering to teach the practice of arithmetic from the 1560s onwards to an aspirant middling sort who wanted to broaden their skills.
Carpenter’s Rule (Ruler), 1635

Back to Occupation Collection icon

Carpenter’s Rule

Carpenter’s Rule (Ruler), 1635

This carpenter's ruler, made of maple wood because it is very strong, is inscribed with the date 1635, which might mark the year of its making or perhaps commemorate a significant event in its owner's life, like finishing an apprenticeship. It was found during excavations by Canterbury Archaeological Trust in the ceiling at Longport House, Newington near Folkestone, when the house was dismantled to make way for the Channel Tunnel and rebuilt at the Weald and Downland Museum. It measures 24 inches in length and has increments marked on one side and decorative patterns carved into the other. Middling men and women often owned tools that had both a practical function and aesthetic appeal, and they may well have made and decorated them themselves, personalising them for use in ways that were pleasing but also facilitated their identification if lost or stolen. The carpenter that lost this ruler at Longport House clearly took pride in the tools of their trade. A technique called mastic and punching was used to decorate the ruler – a skill used by joiners.

A rule such as this would have helped its owner to measure timber in multiples of its length, without needing much expertise in mathematics. Follow this link to the Canterbury Archaeological Trust site to read a quote from Dr Stephen Johnston from the Museum of History of Science (University of Oxford) about how craft practices related to practical maths in this period. We can connect this object to the ‘how to’ books which were a very popular publishing phenomenon, offering to teach the practice of arithmetic from the 1560s onwards to an aspirant middling sort who wanted to broaden their skills.

Object Type Ruler
Year 1635
Material Wood
Discovered Kent
Owned By Canterbury Archaeological Society
Keywords making; producing; owning; craftsmanship; networks; occupation; wood; tools
Image Credit Carpenter’s Rule (1635), Canterbury Archaeological Society, Image from Unlocking Our Past website © Canterbury Archaeological Society and Historic England, no copyright infringement intended.

Back to Occupation Collection icon