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Summary

A curvilinear earthwork ditch is visible in two fields on aerial photographs dating to 1947. It is aligned along the contour and is likely to be a simple post-medieval or modern catchmeadow system to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. It is not visible on later available aerial photographs and the earthworks may have been levelled in the second half of the twentieth century.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS32SW/21

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATER MEADOW (Post Medieval to XX - 1540 AD to 1947 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF CPE/UK/1989, NMR RAF CPE/UK/1989 1003-1004 12-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349551.

A linear ditch is visible as an earthwork in two fields.

Ordnance Survey, 1978, OS/78016, NMR OS/78016 085-086 16-MAY-1978 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349080.

No earthworks are visible and several of the field boundaries visible on 1947 aerial photographs have been removed.

Cook, H. & Williamson, T. (eds.), 2007, Water Meadows: History, Ecology and Conservation (Monograph). SDV349525.

Catchwork, catch-meadow or field-gutter water meadows are a type of water meadow distinctive to the south-west of England. Their form and function is described in chapters 1 and 3.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

A curvilinear earthwork ditch less than 2 metres wide is visible in two fields on aerial photographs dating to 1947. It is aligned roughly along the contour and is likely to be a simple modern or post-medieval catchmeadow system to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream. The water is carried along the valley side and when irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow, thereby irrigating the slopes. This film of water prevented the ground freezing during the winter and raised the temperature of the grass in the spring, thereby encouraging early growth, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April. The gutter is not visible on later available aerial photographs and the earthworks may have been levelled when the field boundaries were removed between 1947 and the 1970s.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV349080	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1978. OS/78016. Ordnance Survey Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR OS/78016 085-086 16-MAY-1978.
SDV349525	Monograph: Cook, H. & Williamson, T. (eds.). 2007. Water Meadows: History, Ecology and Conservation. Water Meadows: History, Ecology and Conservation.
SDV349551	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF CPE/UK/1989. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF CPE/UK/1989 1003-1004 12-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #61878 ]

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project

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