Surveyor's wheel

A single wheel is attached to a handle and the device can be pushed or pulled along by a person walking.

The device to read the distance travelled would be mounted either near the hub of the wheel or at the top of the handle.

Francis Ronalds extended the concept in 1827 to create a device that recorded the distances travelled in graphical form as a survey plan.

A pencil on the slider recorded the distance travelled along the screw on an attached drawing board at a chosen scale.

Thus counting revolutions with a mechanical device attached to the wheel measures the distance directly.

Surveyor's wheels will provide a measure of good accuracy on a smooth surface, such as pavement.

Due to the design of the trundle wheel, it has the potential to not always travel in a straight line which may add extra distance to the final reading.

Surveyor's wheel
An early surveyor's wheel depicted in the hand of late 18th century British road builder John Metcalf .
A diagram of a surveyor's wheel taking a measurement.
A trundle wheel in use (detail from the frontispiece of Ogilby's Britannia (1675)).