See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A possible water-meadow of probable 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as two earthwork ditches on north-west facing slopes of a narrow combe to the south of Noss Mayo. Such water-meadows, known as catchwork, catch meadow or field-gutter systems, 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, thereby irrigating the slopes below.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 1083-1084 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

Two narrow earthwork ditches are visible, probably evidence of a catch meadow water meadow.

Next Perspectives, 2007, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5446-SX5447 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350196.

The southern half of the possible catch meadow remains visible as subtle earthwork ditches.

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

A possible water-meadow of probable 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as two earthwork ditches on north-west facing slopes of a narrow combe to the south of Noss Mayo. 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 the March and April. 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.
It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farms this water meadow system might have been associated. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The gutters probably tapped the north-flowing spring-fed stream which rises circa 350 metres to the south. The earthwork gutters remain partly visible on later digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2007.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV350196	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2007. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5446-SX5447 03-MAY-2007.
SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 1083-1084 10-DEC-1946. [Mapped feature: #63366 ]
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

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)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.