William Roy - Legacy

Legacy

Scientific

Roy's use of scientific advancements and accurate mathematical formulas 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 in surveying. Early twentieth century technical books on modern surveying and geodesy include Roy's work as the historical starting point for the modern profession.

Antiquarian

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.

Historical work

His only historical work, Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain, 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 fraud De Situ Britanniae 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 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 ..."

Minor biographical note

While Roy was a famous and notable person by the time of his death, some of the minor details of his military career have been susceptible to error in later articles about him, usually in a way that enhances Roy's actual status as a young, non-military assistant and surveyor. Among these, a 1793 obituary says he held the rank of Colonel of Artillery in 1746, whereas he was then a 20-year-old surveyor with no military commission, and who was never connected with the artillery. An 1885 book about Western Scotland with a chapter on Roy's life has him a Colonel in the British Army who was trusted with the work of mapping the Highlands in 1747 by his commanding general. Roy deserves much of the technical credit for the map that resulted, but he was actually a non-military assistant to a Lieutenant-Colonel who was a Deputy Quartermaster-General. An 1874 book on the history of Carluke Parish and its people has Roy himself the Deputy Quartermaster-General.

The written history of the Royal Engineers makes a minor contribution to the list of errors, stating in passing that Roy was the nephew of his immediate supervisor in 1747, and was given the rank of Lieutenant. Roy was not related to David Watson, nor was he in the military at that time. The author has confused him with David Dundas, who was the son of Watson's sister, and who joined his uncle in 1752.