Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Abbreviations:

• ER: East Riding
• GM: Greater Manchester
• NR: North Riding
• NY: North Yorkshire
• SY: South Yorkshire
• WR: West Riding
• WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

Comment

“Pyramidiot” is from Leonard Cottrell (Cottrell 1956).

Charles on why the inch must be preserved:

each single British inch is, almost exactly, the 1-500,000,000th of the earth’s axis of rotation already referred to.

Almost, only, not quite, at this present time; for it requires 1.001 of a modern British inch to make one such true inch of the earth and the Great Pyramid. An extraordinarily close approach, even there, between two measures of length in different ages and different lands; and yet if any one should doubt whether our British inch can really be so close to the ancient and earth-perfect measure, I can only advise him to look to the original documents, and see how narrowly it escaped being much closer; and would have been so too in these days, but that the Government officials somewhere in the “unheroic” eighteenth century allowed the ell-measure, of equal date and authority with the yard, and of a greater number of inches (45 to 36), and therefore, in so far, a more powerful standard,—-to drop out of sight.

The modern inch now in vogue amongst us, was derived from the Exchequer yard-standard, through means of Bird’s copy in 1760 and other copies, and was therefore intended to be one of the inches of that particular yard; but the inches of the Exchequer ell were rather larger inches, and there were more of them; so that if either standard was rightfully taken as the sole authority for the value of an inch, it should have been the ell. Now when these standards were very accurately compared by Graham in 1743, before a large deputation of the Royal Society and the Government, it was found that the Exchequer ell’s 45 inches exceeded the quantity of 45 such inches as the Exchequer yard contained 36 of, by the space of 0.0494 of an inch. A result, too, which was in the main confirmed by the simultaneous measures of another standard ell at Guildhall, with an excess of 0.0444 of an inch, and the Guildhall yard with the excess of 0.0434 of an inch.

Keeping, however, only to the Exchequer standard ell; and finding that it was not, after all, the Exchequer yard, which was subsequently made (in Bird’s copy) the legal standard of the country, that it was compared with, but a previous copy of it, and found in 1743 to be in excess by 0.0075 of an inch, on the Royal Society’s scale,—-we must subtract this quantity from the observed excess of the Exchequer ell; and then we get that its 45 inches were equal in terms of the present standard inches of the country, to 45.0419.

But 45 Pyramid inches are equal to 45.045 modern English inches; whence it will be seen, that a Pyramid inch and an early English inch had a closeness to each other that almost surpasses belief, or of 1 to 0.99993: and will cause every well-wisher of his country to see, that the inch must be preserved. Not only preserved too, but, if possible, restored to its ancient, or Pyramid value (Piazzi Smyth 1874).

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Original

[Her inscription on the pyramid:]

In memory of
JESSIE PIAZZI SMYTH
Daughter of Thomas Duncan, the dear wife of Charles
Piazzi Smyth L.L.D. Ed. Late Astronomer Royal for Scotland
Who was his faithful and sympathetic friend and companion
Through 40 years of varied Scientific experiences by land and sea
abroad as well as at home at 12000 feet up in the atmosphere
on the wind swept Peak of Teneriffe as well as underneath and
Upon the GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT
Until she fell asleep in the LORD JESUS CHRIST
At Clova Ripon on the 24th day of March 1896 aged 80.

[Four years later he joined her:]

Besides the earthly remains of his lamented wife, lies interred the body of
CHARLES PIAZZI SMYTH
Born 3rd January 1819, died February 21st 1900.
Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1845 to 1888, who earned unperishing renown by his journeys
to distant lands for Scientific objects, and by his eminent Astronomical and other Scientific
Writings and Researches. As bold in enterprise as he was resolute in demanding a proper measure of
Public sympathy and respect for astronomy in Scotland he was not less a living emblem of pious
Patience under troubles and Afflictions, and he sank to rest, laden with well-earned
Scientific Honours a Bright Star in a Firmament of ardent explorers of the works of their Creator.
Still achieving, still pursuing, learning to labour and to wail

He Prayeth best, who loveth best all things great and small
For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.

285 words.

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• Jessica Duncan Piazzi Smyth (1) ·
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• North Riding of Yorkshire (51) ·
• North Yorkshire (10) ·
• Pyramid inch (1) ·
• Pyramidology (1) ·
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