pole Unit Converter

Definition of pole unit

A pole is a traditional unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, or 16.5 feet. In the modern metric system, this corresponds exactly to 5.0292 metres. It is also known as a rod or perch.

History of pole unit

The pole developed in medieval England as a practical surveying and land-measuring standard. Its length was commonly defined as 5½ yards, or 16½ feet, and it was traditionally associated with the dimensions of a ploughland furrow or a surveyor’s measuring rod. The related terms rod and perch often referred to the same distance. English administrative and legal records preserved the unit, while colonial surveying carried it abroad. Although the metric system largely replaced it, the pole remains visible in historical property descriptions and traditional land-area calculations.

Applications of pole unit

Today, the pole is uncommon in everyday measurement, but it remains useful in historical research, cadastral records, and descriptions of rural land. In Britain and some Commonwealth contexts, older property documents may state boundaries in poles or rods. The unit also appears in traditional area terminology: a square pole equals one perch, while forty square poles make a rood.

Complete list of pole unit conversion