There is a very large housing estate being constructed on a land fill site down in portsmouth that was 160 metres out and rotated by 10 degrees, but still fitted into the local OS......
I'm not mentioning any names, but I'll always double check a survey with a GPS unit after we have recieved it!
Well, the Judge is kind of right on that statement. For the difficult land boundaries, especially metes & bounds, unless solid field evidence conforms to the description, the solution becomes more of a judgement issue and not an exact science. The only "exact science" of the matter, is obtaining realitively consistent measurements of something. Relating that info to bad deed descriptions is not an exact thing. Boundary surveying is a whole different matter than what architects & engineers perceive surveying to be. Boundary surveying is about 60% judgement & 40% "exact" measurements. Knowing what to do with the 40% is what the land surveyor is all about. There are basic rules of land conveyance to follow, to arrive at a solution. Beyond that, its a crapshot.
I read once about a 19th Century deed for a parcel of land in Texas, which read something to the effect of:
From [a given point], go southeasterly for six miles, until you get to the creek, then get into a boat and float downstream for half an hour. Get out of the boat on the eastern bank and walk northwesterly until you get to the prairie.
Now that's an exact science!
On the other hand, the 19th Century work of surveyors creating the USGS topographical maps is remarkably accurate. I worked for years with the Cherryfield (Maine) 15-minute topographic quad sheet, which hadn't been updated from 1902, and found very few discrepancies. Jedediah Hotchkiss, who served as a mapmaker for Confederate Generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War, created accurate works of mapping art during his day. Lay a current USGS quad over his map of Harper's Ferry, and you'll have a tough time telling the difference.
As mentioned above, accuracy is directly related to the skill of the surveyor.
Or there is my favorite...it deals with colonial land grants...start at a big oak tree going southerly for three smokes to a fence post.....after careful research a smoke was a cigarillo that a gentleman would smoke on a casual ride a top his horse. Needless to say after finding to original stones and makers we GPS'ed the property and locked it down.
One can survey a boundary several times and never get the exact same results. Original boundary surveys "stake out" the corners of the property for reference for owners on both sides of the lines. Surveyors that come along after the initial survey have to use their judgement based on the era of the survey, which includes the type of equipment used, its accuracy, as well as the reference points used and deeds written. If there are disagreements between adjacent landowners any discrepancies will be decided by a judge in a court of law based on evidence that a registered land (boundary) surveyor presents. The surveyor does not make the final decision - the judge will.
