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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a single earthwork ditch on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards and on digital images derived from LiDAR data captured between 1998-2012, to the northeast of the former farmstead of Woodhuish, with which it was possibly associated.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to Modern - 1540 AD to 2013 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RS 4056-57 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

The catch meadow is visible as a single earthwork ditch.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, Lidar data JPEG SX95SW DSM, LIDAR SX95SW DSM Environment Agency 1998-2012 (Cartographic). SDV352643.

The catch meadow is visible as a single 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 single earthwork ditch on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards and on digital images derived from LiDAR data captured between 1998-2012, to the northeast of the former farmstead of Woodhuish, with which it was possibly 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 single catch meadow gutter is visible to a length of approximately 280m along northwest facing slope approximately 110m to the northeast of the former medieval farmstead. The system comprises a single gutter which measures less than 2m in width and appears to tap a spring-fed stream located to the southwest. Whilst the catch meadow is likely to have been associated with the former farmstead of Woodhuish, it is likely to have operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow remains visible as a single earthwork ditch on digital images derived from LiDAR data captured between 1998-2012.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RS 4056-57 10-DEC-1946.
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
SDV352643	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. Lidar data JPEG SX95SW DSM. Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX95SW DSM Environment Agency 1998-2012. [Mapped feature: #64694 ]

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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