William Roy
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Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish
military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...
, surveyor, and
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate
geodetic Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
mapping of Great Britain. His masterpiece is usually referred to as Roy's Map of Scotland. It was Roy's advocacy and leadership that led to the creation of the
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
in 1791, the year after his death. His technical work in the establishment of a surveying baseline won him the
Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
in 1785. His maps and drawings of
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archaeological sites in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
were the first accurate and systematic study of the subject, and have not been improved upon even today. Roy was a fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
and a member of the
Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
.


Life and works


Early life and family

Roy was born at Milton Head in Carluke parish in
South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...
on 4 May 1726. His father was a
factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...
in the service of the Gordons/Hamiltons of Hallcraig, as well as an elder of the
Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
. His grandfather had held a similar position as factor, and his uncle acted in that capacity for the
Lockharts of Lee The Lockharts of Lee are a Lanarkshire family that trace their descent from Sir Simon Locard. The family estate is the barony of Lee, centred on Lee Castle near Lanark, originally built around 1272 but much expanded in the 19th century. Origin ...
. Thus Roy grew up in an environment where making land surveys and using maps was part of the daily business. He was educated in Carluke parish school and then Lanark Grammar School. The Parish of Carluke, 1288 –1874 There is no record of a further education such as that enjoyed by his younger brother James. The next few years of his life are poorly documented. Owen and Pilbeam claim Ordnance Survey, map makers to Britain since 1791, Chapter 1, pages 3–11 is devoted to Roy. that "Some time after 1738 (when Roy was 12) he moved to
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and gained experience of surveying and making plans, probably as a civilian draughtsman at the office of the Board of Ordnance at
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
." It is possible that he may have been employed there as a boy because it was normal procedure for the board to employ "cadets" aged ten or eleven who were trained to become civilian surveyors and draughtsmen. Roy was certainly associated with the board by 1746 (aged 20), for he was the author of an official map of Culloden made soon after the battle. A History of the Ordnance Survey. The material on Roy is in pages 3–9 for the Military Survey, pages13–18 for the Hounslow base, pages 33–37 for the calculation of the Anglo-French Survey and pages 363–365 for his Instructions to Surveyors. As an employee of the board he would have come to notice of Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson, Deputy Quartermaster-General of the Military District of
North Britain North Britain is a term which has been occasionally used, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island. "North Britains" could also re ...
for the board, whose headquarters was in Edinburgh. The terms of Roy's employment are unknown but must have some opportunity to undertake private surveys for he was reported as a respected land surveyor employed by the Callander family at their Craigforth estate near
Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
prior to his work for the military. ''Memoirs of James Campbell of Ardkinglass'', Roy maintained his connections to his birthplace and the people living there. A servant for the Lockharts of Lee recalled his visits there over time, as his national reputation grew. She noted that at first he would dine in the servants hall, in later years he would dine with the family, and later still he would be seated at the right hand of the
Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
.


Monument

There is a monument to William Roy at the location of his birthplace on Milton Road near Carluke. It is signposted from the junction of Lanark Road and Cartland Avenue. The monument is in the form of a Hotine pillar, a type of trig point. The inscription reads "Here stood Miltonhead the birthplace of Major-General William Roy 4th May 1726 - 30th June 1790 from whose military map of Scotland made in 1747 - 1755 grew the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain".


Principal sources

* Lee (1885–1900)
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
(1900 edition). * The early years of the Ordnance Survey. First published in 1924. Includes some of Roy's letters. * Map of a Nation: a biography of the Ordnance Survey. * Ordnance Survey, map makers to Britain since 1791. Available online. * A History of the Ordnance Survey. The ''official'' account. References to original papers. Available online. * History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Available online.


Roy as surveyor and soldier


The survey of Scotland

In 1747 Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson, Deputy Quartermaster-General, proposed the compilation of a map of the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
following the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...
. In response, King
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commissioned a military survey of the Highlands, and Watson was placed in charge, under the command of the
Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...
, but it fell to Roy "to begin, and afterwards to have a considerable share in, the execution of that map", Quotation from , The account of the Hounslow baseline now known as ''The Duke of Cumberland's Map''. Roy was without any military rank at this time but Watson appointed him as an assistant to the quartermaster to provide him some seniority over the group of (typically) six soldiers who travelled with him: an NCO, two end markers, two chainmen and a batman. From 1749 he was joined by another five junior surveyors for various periods of time: notable among these young assistants were
Paul Sandby Paul Sandby (1731 â€“ 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Life and work Sandby was ...
(born 1731), later renowned for his watercolour landscapes, and a seventeen-year-old David Dundas (born 1735), later Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Eventually there were six teams conducting surveys by traverses of the country with the objects to the side of the line recorded by sketches and compass directions. The Highlands were covered by 1752, but the survey was extended to the lowlands for another three years, until 1755, when most of the engineer surveyors were posted to war stations. In the introduction to the 1885 account of the measurement of the Hounslow baseline Roy writes that the map remained "in an unfinished state ... and is to be considered as a magnificent military sketch rather than a very accurate map of a country ... (and) it would have been completed, and many of its imperfections no doubt remedied, but for the breaking out of war in 1755." The eighty-four original field sheets and the thirty-eight divisions of the "fair-protraction"are held in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
together with a small index map and a reduced map of the whole country in a single sheet published as "the King's map". It is now possible to view the map online.Roy's map
is held in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
but it is available online by courtesy of the
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...
. The index page links to several views of the map including one in which it can be superimposed on the modern map.


Military appointments

Throughout the Survey of Scotland, Roy was a civilian assistant to David Watson the deputy quartermaster-general, but in 1755 the survey was terminated by the outbreak of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
with France and the consequent redeployment of personnel to more pressing posts in both the regular army and the
Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...
. In the same year the engineers of the board were formed into the Corps of Engineers. The board officers were members of both structures, for they would be deployed with the army regiments for specialist duties. In 1776 Roy was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 53rd Foot, a new regiment formed in 1755. At the same time he was appointed as a practitioner-engineer, the lowest rank in the Board of Ordnance survey department, and ensign in the Corps of Engineers. Thereafter Roy was promoted steadily, and rapidly, in both structures, but his army rank was always greater than his board rank. For example, he was lieutenant-colonel in the army by 1762 and director and lieutenant-colonel of the Engineers in 1783. He is best known by his army rank of major-general, which he attained in 1781. From 1786 to his death in 1790, Roy held the position of Colonel of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot.


Active service

On the termination of the Scottish survey Roy, now under the jurisdiction of two military bodies, was posted in 1756 to the South of England where he was engaged, together with Watson and Dundas, in inspecting the readiness of coastal military installations in preparation for an expected French invasion. This work involved Roy in the production of plans of fortifications and rough maps of stretches of the south coast: examples are a sketch of the country from Gloucester to Pembroke, with Milford Haven and a sketch of the country betwixt Guildford and Canterbury. These sketches are preserved in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. By 1757 Roy was with his regiment in France for the Rochefort expedition and then in Germany for the
Battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of Fr ...
in 1759. His technical abilities and willingness to innovate brought him to the favourable attention of his commanders. Preparatory to the battle, the various military engineers made drawings of each step of the coming battle, with each step drawn on a different sheet of paper. The commander could then study the course of the battle before it occurred, going from one sheet to the next. Lieutenant Roy, however, made his drawings on a single sheet with coordinated and accurate overlays, so that the commander could more easily study the course of the battle by examining a single sheet of paper. The commander's comprehension was greatly facilitated, and Roy's methodology was soon adopted as an advancement in military science. Thereafter his promotion was rapid, and by the end of the war in 1763 Roy was a lieutenant colonel in the regiment and director of the engineers of the Board of Ordnance as well as being the deputy quartermaster general for Germany.


Surveyor-general

At the conclusion of the war in 1763 Roy returned to London, where he was based for the rest of his life. The threatened French invasion of the south coast had never materialised, but he felt strongly that the reconnaissances he had made with Watson at the outbreak of the war should be extended to a national survey, not just of the vulnerable south but the whole of the British Isles. He never ceased to champion this cause, but the expense of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
and then the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
excluded any expenditure on trigonometrical surveys for another twenty years. In 1765 he was appointed surveyor-general under a royal warrant which directed him "to inspect, survey and make reports from time to time of the state of the coasts of this Kingdom and the islands thereunto belonging." This work, which took him to many parts of Britain and abroad (Ireland and
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
), is recorded in the many plans and sketch maps of districts that are now lodged at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. Despite the travel Roy was able to enter fully into the intellectual life of London, and in 1767 he became a fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. The only paper he read before the society was in 1783 on ''Rules for measuring heights with a barometer''. Roy was promoted to colonel in 1777, and to major-general in 1781. He was in charge of the departments of the Quartermaster-General and Chief Engineer in 1782, and in 1783 became the director of Royal Engineers.


The Anglo-French survey

Late in life, when he was 57, Roy was granted the opportunity to establish his lasting reputation in the world of geodesy. The opening came from a completely unexpected direction. In 1783
Cassini de Thury Cassini may refer to: People * Cassini (surname) * Oleg Cassini (1913-2006), American fashion designer :Cassini family: * Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625–1712), Italian mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer * Jacques Cassini (167 ...
addressed a memoir to the Royal Society in which he expressed grave reservations of the measurements of latitude and longitude which had been undertaken at
Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...
. He suggested that the correct values might be found by combining the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...
figures with a precise triangulation (survey) between the two observatories. Sir
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
, president of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, proposed that Roy should lead the project. Roy accepted with enthusiasm for he saw that apart from the specific measurements proposed the survey could be the first step towards the national survey that he had advocated so often. The whole project is described by Roy in three major contributions to the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
in 1785, The measurement of the Hounslow baseline. 1787 Proposals for the triangulation and 1790. Account of the triangulation and the calculations involved. There are shorter accounts of the project in the ''History of the Royal Engineers'', the records of the Royal Society and in every history of the Ordnance Survey. After a preliminary survey by Roy and three other members of the Society on 16 April, they found a suitable location for the starting baseline on
Hounslow Heath Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than . The prese ...
, between King's Arbour and
Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...
Poor-house just over 5 miles to the south-east. A preliminary measurement of the line was carried out with a steel chain prepared by
Jesse Ramsden Jesse Ramsden FRS FRSE (6 October 1735 – 5 November 1800) was a British mathematician, astronomical and scientific instrument maker. His reputation was built on the engraving and design of dividing engines which allowed high accuracy measure ...
. It was the intention to measure more accurately with a set of three deal rods about 20 ft. in length but their use had to be abandoned because of their susceptibility to lengthen and shorten in wet weather. The deal rods were replaced by one-inch-thick glass tubes of the same length. The final measurement gives the length of the base as 27404.7 ft. to an accuracy of about 3 inches in 5 miles (or about 1/100,000). The precision of this baseline measurement far exceeded any previous attempts, and in recognition Roy was awarded the
Copley medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
by the Royal Society in 1785. The triangulation itself was delayed until 1787 when Ramsden supplied a new theodolite of unsurpassed accuracy: it could measure angles to within one arc second and therefore detect the curvature of the Earth by measuring the
spherical excess Spherical trigonometry is the branch of spherical geometry that deals with the metrical relationships between the sides and angles of spherical triangles, traditionally expressed using trigonometric functions. On the sphere, geodesics are gr ...
of the triangles of the survey. By the end of that year he had completed measurements at all but two of the trigonometric stations. Many of the measurements, particularly the cross channel sightings, were taken at night using intense flares (handled by the artillery). Others required the placing of the instrument on church towers, or even on scaffolded steeples, and in their absence it was sometimes necessary to use a specially constructed portable tower some 30 feet high. The final report of 1790 presents figures for the distance between Paris and Greenwich as well as the precise latitude, longitude and height of the British triangulation stations. Throughout the survey Roy took every opportunity to fix the position of as many landmarks as possible and these formed the basis of the
topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scien ...
surveys from which new maps could be prepared. Roy died when only three pages of his final report remained to be proofed.


Roy's scientific legacy

Roy's use of scientific advancements and accurate mathematical formulae paved the way for modern geodesic surveying. His tenure and his work are the dividing line between older, approximate mappings and newer, highly accurate ones in Britain. He is cited repeatedly in early nineteenth-century mathematics textbooks for his use of
spherical trigonometry Spherical trigonometry is the branch of spherical geometry that deals with the metrical relationships between the sides and angles of spherical triangles, traditionally expressed using trigonometric functions. On the sphere, geodesics are gr ...
in surveying. Early twentieth-century technical books on modern surveying and
geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
include Roy's work as the historical starting point for the modern profession. Perhaps his greatest legacy of all was the work of the
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
which commenced in 1791, one year after his death, by extending the basic
Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) The Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) was the geodetic survey to measure the relative position of Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory via triangulation. The English operations, executed by William Roy, consisted of the measureme ...
to the rest of Great Britain over the following sixty years.


Roy as antiquary

During the Scottish Survey, Roy took careful note of the locations of ancient
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
remains, primarily military camps, wherever he encountered them and these were all marked precisely on the map sheets. This was the beginning of a lifelong interest in ancient Scottish history which he pursued whenever he was travelling the country in his capacity as Surveyor General. Roy's maps and his drawings of the relics of the Roman presence in Scotland were immediately seen as credible and valuable. For sites where the Roman remains were later destroyed by human development, his drawings are the only reliable record of their existence. Roy was the first to systematically map the Antonine Wall and provide accurate and detailed drawings of its remains, an effort undertaken in 1764. Roy's only historical work, ''Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain'' was published posthumously in 1793. This book has a mixed reputation. His drawings and maps are held in the highest regard as still-valuable research sources. However, his efforts in the scholarly discussion of history are widely held to be without value, largely through no fault of his own. This was due to his belief that the spurious text of Charles Bertram ''
De Situ Britanniae ''The Description of Britain'', also known by its Latin name ' ("On the Situation of Britain"), was a literary forgery perpetrated by Charles Bertram on the historians of England. It purported to be a 15th-century manuscript by the English monk R ...
'' was a genuine work, a view shared by virtually all of his contemporaries. Roy consequently adjusted his perspective to be consistent with the history as told in the fraud, causing his own conclusions to be without a valid foundation. Much of Roy's research was devoted to the attempt to follow fictitious journeys throughout Scotland that were described in ''De Situ Britanniae''. That Roy's considerable talents were partially wasted is a tragedy. He was a Scot with a lifelong interest in ancient Scottish history, and his technical ability and scientific knowledge made him uniquely qualified to provide information in an area of history where knowledge and understanding are minimal. That loss for Scottish history has been bemoaned by Scottish historians. In his introduction to ''Celtic Scotland'',
Skene Skene may refer to: * Skene, Aberdeenshire, a community in North East Scotland, United Kingdom * Skene, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States * Skene, Sweden, a village now part of Kinna, Sweden * Skene (automobi ...
deprecates those historical works based on ''De Situ'', including Roy's, but adds for him alone the comment that " ... perhaps more to be regretted, the valuable work of General Roy ..." ''Celtic Scotland'', Introduction
Notation of Spurious Authorities
/ref>


Notes


Bibliography and general references


Roy's major scientific papers

* * * *


Roy's historical publication

*


Roy's maps and plans (partial list)

The British Library holds a large collection of Roy's works (at Maps K.Top.48.25-1.a-f.); plans of Roman camps, plans of fortifications and maps of surveys conducted by himself are others. All of these works show Roy to have been an exceptionally neat and capable draughtsman. The principal items include *

', * ''The Duke of Cumberland's Map'' (1747), * ''A General Description of the South Part of Ireland, or Observations during a Short Tour in Ireland'' (1766), * ''Roman Post at Ardoch'', ''Roman Camp, Dalginross, Genearn'', ''Roman Temple at Netherby, Cumberland'', ''Stratgeth Roman Post, near Innerpeffrey, Strathearn'', * ''Culloden House'', ''Esk River'', ''Kent, New Romney to North Foreland'', ''Louisbourg'', ''Milford Haven'', ''Coast of Sussex'', ''Southeast part of England'', ''Country between Guildford and Canterbury'', ''Hindhead to Cocking'', ''Lewes Road from Croydon to Chailey'', ''Country from Dorchester to Salisbury'', ''Country from Gloucester to Pembroke'', ''Marden Castle, near Dorchester''.


Histories of the Ordnance Survey

* * * *


General references

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* – the letter refers to Roy by name as "... our trusty and well beloved Lieutenant-Colonel William Roy, one of our engineers for inspecting, surveying, and making reports from time to time of the state of the coasts and districts of the country adjacent to the coasts of this kingdom, and the islands hereunto belonging." * – a literary review of Roy's book * – an early account of the Survey of England * – a literary review of Roy's book * – a discussion of Roy's work that won him the Copley Medal. * * – the new council of the Royal Society, with "Major Gen. W. Roy" as one of the new members of the council. * Royal Engineers. Thei
present website
has a small history section. Th

(a
archive.org
had more information including

The archived website gives general background information on the Royal Engineers during the time of Roy.


External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, William 1726 births 1790 deaths British Army generals Scottish cartographers Scottish geographers Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish soldiers Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Recipients of the Copley Medal People from Carluke Scottish antiquarians Scottish engineers Scottish surveyors 18th-century Scottish people Royal Engineers officers People educated at Lanark Grammar School 18th-century geographers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War