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Summary

The remains of a water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs from 1945 as a series of earthwork ditches. They are likely to survive at least partly as earthworks.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

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

Some of the gutters are depicted.

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/967, RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 3146-3147 01-NOV-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351060.

Water meadow gutters are visible as earthwork ditches.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2007, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6445 22-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349355.

Many of the gutters 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 from 1945 as a series of earthwork ditches to the south-west of Lower Manor 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 Lower Manor Farm catch meadow covers a visible area of approximately 10 hectares of north- and south-facing slope below the farmstead. 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, supplemented by the natural watercourse. In the valley bottom a series of cross cut ditches, some depicted on historic mapping, appear to extend the system onto the valley floor.
Many of the southernmost gutters remain visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 2007 and are likely to survive.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV349355	Aerial Photograph: Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC. 2007. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Aerial Photography for Great Britain Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6445 22-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 3146-3147 01-NOV-1945. [Mapped feature: #63622 ]
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

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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