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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1945 onwards and on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2012, to the south of Dartmouth.

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

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/967, RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 4052-53 01-NOV-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351060.

The catch meadow is partly visible as an earthwork ditch.

Royal Air Force, 1951, RAF/58/680, RAF/58/680 RS 4095-96 15-MAY-1951 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351617.

The catch meadow is partly visible as an earthwork ditch.

Channel Coast Observatory, 2001-2012, Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography, Channel Coastal Observatory SX8750 19-SEP-2012 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351226.

The catch meadow is partly visible as an earthwork ditch.

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 a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1945 onwards and on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2012, to the south of Dartmouth. 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 0.37 hectares of northeast and northwest facing slope. The system comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap a spring-fed stream that rises approximately 40m to the southeast. It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farm this water meadow system might have been associated with. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadows remains visible as a single earthwork ditch on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2012, although the survival of the remaining gutters is uncertain owing to the density of vegetation.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351060	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/UK/967. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/967 RS 4052-53 01-NOV-1945.
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 Coastal Observatory SX8750 19-SEP-2012.
SDV351617	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1951. RAF/58/680. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/58/680 RS 4095-96 15-MAY-1951.

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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