Henry MacLauchlan (26 April 1792 – 27 January 1882) was a British military, geological and archaeological surveyor. Born into a military family, MacLauchlan studied surveying whilst a cadet at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

with the

Royal Corps of Military Surveyors and Draftsmen Royal Corps of Military Surveyors and Draftsmen was a British military corps under the Board of Ordnance formally established in 1800 and disbanded in 1817. It was one of the predecessors of the Ordnance Survey. Establishment The royal warrant t ...

. He left the corps when it disbanded in 1817 and joined the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

a few years later. After leaving the army, MacLauchlan worked with geologist

Henry De la Beche Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...

on a survey of Cornwall and for the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

to survey archaeology in the north of England. MacLauchlan died in Clapham in 1882.

Early life and career

MacLauchlan was born at the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

base of

Landguard Fort Landguard Fort is a fort at the mouth of the River Orwell outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, designed to guard the mouth of the river. It is now managed by the charity English Heritage and is open to the public. History Originally known as Langer ...

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, to Andrew MacLauchlan, a storekeeper for 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 ...

, and his second wife, Martha Haywood. After his father's death in 1795, MacLauchlan moved in with his mother's family in Chichester, before becoming, around 1804, a cadet with the

at the

. He spent several years with the army as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types o ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

before the corps disbanded in 1817 and he was retired on half pay. MacLauchlan worked with the

from 1823 to 1824, making surveys in Gloucestershire, South Wales and Bedfordshire.

Geological and archaeological work

As well as surveying, MacLauchlan was interested in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, being elected a fellow of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 1832 and being known to the geologists William Conybeare and

George Bellas Greenough George Bellas Greenough FRS FGS (18 January 1778 – 2 April 1855) was a pioneering English geologist. He is best known as a synthesizer of geology rather than as an original researcher. Trained as a lawyer, he was a talented speaker and hi ...

. In 1835 he was seconded to

to provide geographical expertise for his geological survey of Cornwall. MacLauchlan returned to surveying in 1839, before retiring in November 1844. Upon retirement MacLauchlan moved to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, where he surveyed

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

s and linear

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour *Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), mi ...

for the Assessionable Manors Commission. He published his findings in six papers in the annual reports of the

Royal Institution of Cornwall The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) is a Learned society in Truro, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was founded in Truro on 5 February 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest ...

between 1847 and 1853. By 1848 he was conducting a survey of the archaeology of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

on behalf of the

, an amateur archaeologist. His work in Yorkshire was completed in 1849 and published in the ''

Archaeological Journal ''The Archaeological Journal'' is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal for archaeology, archaeological and architecture, architectural reports and articles. It was established in 1844 by the British Archaeological Association as a quarter ...

''. The Duke then commissioned MacLauchlan to survey parts of Northumberland, including

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

and

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

, the results of which were published between 1850 and 1867.

Later life

MacLauchlan was consulted in 1854 by a commission of the British Parliament which was investigating which scales should be used by the Ordnance Survey for mapping and how best to represent hills on maps. MacLauchlan recommended the use of shading to show hills, considering

contour line A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, isoquant or isarithm) of a Function of several real variables, function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a ...

s to be less informative and aesthetically pleasing. MacLauchlan never married and, when not in the field surveying, resided in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

in London. He died at 14 Liston Road, Clapham on 27 January 1882. MacLauchlan was little known until the 1950s and 1960s, when scholars of pre-historic and Roman northern England acknowledged the value of his accurate work, especially in his derivation of place names.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLauchlan, Henry 1792 births 1882 deaths English surveyors People from Felixstowe British Army soldiers 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Suffolk