A chaldron was used mostly for coal. For many years, it was the legal limit of size and weight for horse drawn delivery. Different areas used different sizes of chaldrons which varied between 32 and 72 bushels. In England this method was used from the 13th century onwards until the chaldron measure was abolished in 1963 by the Weights and Measures Act. Since that time coal is sold by weight, not volume.

A firkin, hogshead and kilderkin are also measures of capacity or volume, but smaller than a chaldron and used for liquids.

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