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Summary

The remains of a possible water-meadow of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2010 as two parallel earthwork ditches. Earthworks are likely to survive.

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, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

No features are depicted that correspond to the possible gutters.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 2104-2105 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

Possible water meadow gutters are visible as earthwork ditches.

GetMapping, 2010, GetMapping 2010 aerial photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6350 24-SEP-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351585.

The possible 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 possible post medieval water meadow, known locally as a catchwater meadow system, is visible on aerial photographs between 1946 and 2010 as a series of parallel earthwork ditches to the north-east of Great Orcheton.
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 possible catch meadow at Great Orcheton consists of five partial ditches, covering approximately 1.5 hectares of south-east facing slope. The potential source of water is not clear from the mapping but it may have collected in the farmstead. It is possible therefore that the system operated as an ‘integrated’ catch meadow, in which manure from cattle sheds within the farmyards is mixed with the water supply to supply liquid manure to the pasture.
Some of the gutters are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 2010 and remains are likely to survive.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 2104-2105 10-DEC-1946. [Mapped feature: #64017 ]
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
SDV351585	Aerial Photograph: GetMapping. 2010. GetMapping 2010 aerial photographs. Getmapping. Photograph (Digital). Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SX6350 24-SEP-2002.

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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