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Summary

The remains of a water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs between 1945 and 2007 as a series of earthwork ditches to the south of Carswell Farm. They are likely to survive in part as earthworks.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork remains of catch meadow system and pond of probable post medieval date to south of Carswell

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

One possible water channel is depicted.

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/967, RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 3114-3115 01-NOV-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351060.

Water meadow gutters are visible as earthwork ditches.

Next Perspectives, 2007, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5847 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350196.

The gutters in the field centred on SX5885447171 are 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 between 1945 and 2007 as a series of earthwork ditches to the south of Carswell Farm, 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 Carswell catch meadow covers a visible area of approximately 7 hectares of east- and west-facing slope below the farmstead. The main source of water is likely to have been a spring-fed pond at the farmstead, as several linear features likely to be water channels are depicted on the late nineteenth century mapping linking the farmstead to a wide and deep channel, probably a regularised natural feature, south of the farm. This channel is visible on the 1940s aerial photographs and the field gutters appear to stem from it before it joins another watercourse marked on historic mapping to the south at approximately SX5895747425. It is therefore likely 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.
Many of the gutters remain visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs taken in 2007, particularly in the field centred on SX5885447171.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV350196	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2007. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX5847 03-MAY-2007.
SDV351060	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/UK/967. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 3114-3115 01-NOV-1945. [Mapped feature: #63506 ]
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)

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