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Summary

A possible catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1947, to the east of Lower Southwood. The system is not visible on aerial photographs after 1947 and has likely since been completely levelled.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to Modern - 1540 AD to 2013 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2463-64 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

The possible catch meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches.

Oxford Archaeotechnics Ltd, 1995, A30 Honiton to Exeter Improvement Archaeological Assessment: Topsoil Magnetic Susceptibility Survey and Magnetometer (Gradiometer) Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV356427.

Ordnance Survey, 2014, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV355681.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A possible catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1947, to the east of Lower Southwood. Most catch meadow systems are believed to date to the post medieval period, although it is likely that they were first developed in the medieval period. Catch meadows provided a simple, inexpensive and effective form of irrigation. When irrigation was required water was diverted from a source such as a pond, river, spring or spring-fed stream and passed along the meadow slopes via one or more of the gutters, which was then caused to overflow. The lower, roughly parallel gutters then ‘caught’ and redistributed water passing it evenly over the surface of a meadow below. The gently flowing water prevented the ground freezing in winter and encouraged early growth in spring, thereby providing extra feed for livestock, particularly important during the hungry gap of March and April. The possible catch meadow covers an area of approximately 1.46 hectares of gentle sloping and variable terrain, The system, which in this case, was presumably designed to take advantage of these subtle variations in the micro-topography comprises a series of parallel curvilinear gutters possibly fed via a northwest to southeast aligned drain which appears to tap a pond to the northwest. It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farm this water meadow system might have been associated with. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The gutters were not visible on aerial photographs after 1947 and have likely since been completely levelled.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV355681	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2014. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2463-64 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #72327 ]
SDV356427	Report - Geophysical Survey: Oxford Archaeotechnics Ltd. 1995. A30 Honiton to Exeter Improvement Archaeological Assessment: Topsoil Magnetic Susceptibility Survey and Magnetometer (Gradiometer) Survey. Oxford Archaeotechnics Ltd Report. A3 Comb Bound + Digital.
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV6447 - Geophysical Survey for A30 Honiton to Exeter Improvement Scheme (Ref: 0480694/EXD/EXM)

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