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Summary

A water-meadow of probable nineteenth century date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onward as a series of earthwork ditches to the south and east of Stoke House, and may be connected with it. The gutters are likely to survive as earthworks.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATER MEADOW (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/967, RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 4113 01-NOV-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351060.

Water meadow gutters are visible as earthwork ditches.

Royal Air Force, 1965, RAF/58/7109 F42, NMR RAF/58/7109 F42 0116-0117 22-NOV-1965 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351204.

The earthworks are visible, but overgrown.

GetMapping, 1999, 122/99, DCC GM/122/99 0161-0162 15-NOV-1999 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351205.

The earthworks are just visible, and the gutters are clearly visible as dark cropmarks.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

A post medieval water meadow, known locally as a catchwater meadow system, is visible on aerial photographs of 1945 onwards as a series of roughly parallel earthwork ditches to the south and east of Stoke House, with which it was probably associated.
Catch meadows provided a simple, inexpensive but effective form of irrigation, designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. A larger gutter, often called a headmain, tapped water from a source such as a river, spring or spring-fed stream. When irrigation was required the headmain was dammed, causing water to overflow downslope, where the roughly parallel gutters distributed the flowing water 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. Most catchwater meadow systems are believed to date to the post medieval period, although it is possible that they were first developed in the medieval period.
The Stoke catch meadow covers a visible area of approximately 2 hectares of south-facing slope below the house, although vegetation growth has obscured the part in the immediate vicinity of the house. The source of water is not clear, but it is possible that the system operated as an ‘integrated’ catch meadow, in which manure from cattle sheds within the farmyard is mixed with the water supply to supply liquid manure to the pasture.
The gutters are clearly defined in the 1940s aerial photographs, and may have been recently cleaned out, although they had become overgrown by the 1960s. Much of the system remains visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs taken in 1999, and the earthworks are likely to survive.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351060	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/UK/967. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 4113 01-NOV-1945. [Mapped feature: #63331 ]
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351204	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1965. RAF/58/7109 F42. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/58/7109 F42 0116-0117 22-NOV-1965.
SDV351205	Aerial Photograph: GetMapping. 1999. 122/99. GetMapping Aerial Photograph. DCC GM/122/99 0161-0162 15-NOV-1999.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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