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Summary

A large area of probable catch meadow irrigation of probable post-medieval to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s and digital images derived from lidar data captured from 1998 to 2014 as numerous narrow curvilinear and roughly parallel earthwork ditches on an extensive area of the gentle east facing slopes to the east of Aller Farm, Awliscombe parish.
Catch meadows are usually found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream and passing it along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes below.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2450-2451 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Linear and curvilinear earthwork ditches were visible. Map object based partly on this source.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST1203 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

Linear and curvilinear ditches were visible as slight earthworks. Map object based partly on this source.

Next Perspectives, 2014, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1203 08-SEP-2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359479.

The ditches were not visible as earthworks.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

Catch meadow ditches of probable post-medieval to 20th century date were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as numerous narrow curvilinear and roughly parallel earthwork ditches on an extensive area of the gentle east facing slopes to the east of Aller Farm, Awliscombe parish.
Many 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 and often continued in use into the twentieth century. 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 roughly parallel gutters, which was then caused to overflow. Any lower, 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 the March and April.
The visible gutters east of Aller Farm extended over several fields, potentially irrigating an area of circa 5.5 hectares. Variations in earthwork width, orientation and spacing across the plots might support the interpretation that several phases of catch meadow construction are represented by the visible earthworks. Alternatively, this might simply reflect the topography in this location and the desire to exploit multiple water sources.
The gutters appear to be in use on aerial photographs of April 1947 but could not be clearly seen as earthworks on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2014, on which the fields appear to be under pasture. However, digital images derived from lidar data captured from 1998 to 2014 reveal that the larger gutters survive as very slight earthworks, although some of the narrower gutters might have been levelled.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2450-2451 11-APR-1947.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST1203 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359479	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2014. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Digital. Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1203 08-SEP-2014.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)

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