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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as three earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1943 at Start Farm, with which it was probably associated.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

United States Airforce, 1943, US/7PH/GP/LOC133, US/7PH/GP/LOC133 FV 7013-7014 30-DEC-1943 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351450.

The catch meadow is visible as earthwork ditches.

Ordnance Survey, 1983, OS/83125, OS/83125 V 170-71 04-JUL-1983 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351064.

The catch meadow appears to have been levelled.

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

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as three earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1943 at Start Farm, with which it was probably associated. 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. 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. The catch meadow covers an area of approximately 0.5 hectares of southwest facing slope below Start Farm. The system comprise a series of parallel gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap a stream that rises approximately 42m north of the farm. This water meadow might have operated as what has been called an ‘integrated’ catch meadow, in which manure from the cow sheds within the farmyard was mixed with the water supply to supply liquid manure to the pasture. The earthwork gutters appear to have been levelled by 1983, although may still survive as earthworks.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351064	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1983. OS/83125. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/83125 V 170-71 04-JUL-1983.
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
SDV351450	Aerial Photograph: United States Airforce. 1943. US/7PH/GP/LOC133. United States Airforce. Photograph (Paper). US/7PH/GP/LOC133 FV 7013-7014 30-DEC-1943. [Mapped feature: #63711 ]

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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