Quarter Days and Term Days in the UK

In the Middle Ages, regular payments such as rent were collected quarterly, as poor transportation made more frequent collection impractical. There were specific Quarter Days which were used throughout England, Wales and Ireland, mostly using dates from the church calendar. A different four days were used in Scotland, referred to as Quarter and Term Days.

The quarter days used in England, Wales and Ireland are: Lady Day (25 March), Midsummer Day (24 June), Michaelmas (29 September) and Christmas (25 December).

As well as rent collection, magistrates were elected and servants almost always hired on quarter days. Quarter days are still sometimes used in rentals and for other legal purposes to this day, though many people do not realise this.

Lady Day used once to be New Year's Day, until the calendar was changed from the Julian to the Gregorian in 1752. That year started on 25 March, as was normal, but ended on 31st December. 1753 started the next day, on 1st January. However, the tax year in Britain still starts on 6th April to this day - 6th April in 1753 fell on the day that would have been 25th March if the Julian calendar had still been in use.

The quarter days used in Scotland were: Candlemas (February 2), Whitsunday (May 15), Lammas (August 1) and Martinmas (November 11). Whitsunday and Martinmas are also term days. However, in 1990 these were revised in the Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act, and the new dates are: Candlemas (February 28), Whitsunday (May 28), Lammas (August 28) and Martinmas (November 28).

If you're looking for a way to commemorate this event, you might be interested in this article: Commemorations with Cross Stitch

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