THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD

Until 1752, Britain used the Julian calendar. The Julian methodology was based upon the solar year, that is the time it takes for the earth to rotate around the sun — a system that caused navigational and trade inaccuracies, and necessitated a leap year to be added every four years. Britain came late to the more accurate Gregorian calendar, which had been adopted by most European Catholic countries since 1582.

The transition in Britain did not occur without some disquiet, largely because of the need (on paper) to ‘lose’ 264 hours in order to match Europe. When Britain moved to the Gregorian calendar in September 1753, farm labourers, paid by the day, took to the streets demanding, “Give us back our 11 days”.

The Julian calendar therefore leads to a quirk in British history — the days between the second and 14th of September 1753, were skipped, and farm workers lost nearly a fortnight’s wages.