England In England, the ell was usually one-and-a-quarter yards, which is . It was mainly used in the
tailoring business but is now obsolete. Although the exact length was never defined in English law, standards were kept; the brass ell examined at the
Exchequer by Graham in the 1740s had been in use "since the time of Queen Elizabeth." Other English measures called an ell include the "yard and handful," or the 40 inch ell, abolished in 1439; the yard and inch, or the 37 inch ell (a cloth measure), abolished after 1553, later known as the
Scotch ell ; and the cloth ell of 45 inches, used until 1600. See
yard for details.
Scots The
Scottish ell () is approximately . The Scottish ell was standardised in 1661, with the exemplar to be kept in the custody of Edinburgh. It comes from
Middle English . It was used in the popular expression (equivalent to "Give him an inch and he'll take a mile" or "... he'll take a
yard").
The Ell Shop (1757) in
Dunkeld,
Perth and Kinross (
National Trust for Scotland), is so called from the 18th-century iron ell-stick attached to one corner, once used to measure cloth and other commodities in the adjacent market-place. The shaft of the 17th-century Kincardine
mercat cross stands in the square of
Fettercairn, and is notched to show the measurements of an ell. Scottish measures were made obsolete, and English measurements made standard in Scotland, by an Act of Parliament, the
Weights and Measures Act 1824. ell explained on an information board outside
The Ell Shop iron ell attached to the wall
Other Similar measures include: • Netherlands: el, 1 metre (Old ell=27.08 inches) • Jersey: ell, 4 feet • N. Borneo: ella, 1 yard • Switzerland: elle, 0.6561 yard • Ottoman Turkey: Arşın, ~69 cm ==In literature==