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Summary

The remains of a water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs from 1948 a series of parallel earthwork ditches to the north and north-west of Lambside. Some are likely to survive as earthworks.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Membland Hall Parkland and Gardens. Victorian landscaped park including cropmarks of a medieval enclosure, a quarry pit of probable post-medieval date and World War One slit trenches and earthwork remains of a catch meadow of probable post medieval date

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATER MEADOW (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2501 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351280.

A series of parallel earthwork ditches are visible.

Channel Coast Observatory, 2001-2012, Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography, Channel Coast Observatory SX5747_20120918ortho.ecw 17-SEP-2012 © CCO (Aerial Photograph). SDV351226.

The westernmost gutters are visible as earthworks.

Next Perspectives, 2007, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5747 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350196.

The westernmost field gutters are clearly visible as earthworks.

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 from 1948 onwards as a series of parallel earthwork ditches to the north and north-west of Lambside, 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 Lambside catch meadow covers a visible area of approximately 6 hectares of east- and west-facing slope below the farmstead. The source of water is not clear, but may be from a spring arising in the area around the post-1904 pump house at SX5768147519. It is possible that the system partly 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 westernmost gutters are still visible as dark linear marks on aerial photographs taken in September 2012 and are likely to survive as earthworks, although those on the east may have been levelled.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV350196	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2007. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5747 03-MAY-2007. [Mapped feature: #63443 ]
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
SDV351226	Aerial Photograph: Channel Coast Observatory. 2001-2012. Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography. Channel Coast Observatory. Digital. Channel Coast Observatory SX5747_20120918ortho.ecw 17-SEP-2012 © CCO.
SDV351280	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1948. RAF/CPE/UK/2501. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).

Associated Monuments

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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