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Summary

A catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1946 on the steep combe slopes to the south of Salcombe Regis. Catch meadows are a type of water meadow usually found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream and passing it along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes below.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1216176: SPRING COMBE

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1880 AD)

Full description

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

The visible earthwork gutters partly correspond with features depicted on the Ordnance Survey first edition 25 inch map.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 3219-3220 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

Roughly parallel earthwork gutters are visible to the south of Salcombe Regis.

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 post-medieval to 19th century date is visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1946 on the steep combe slopes to the south of Salcombe Regis.
Many 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 and often continued in use into the twentieth century. 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.
In this instance the system probably tapped the spring fed stream which flows southwards towards Salcombe Mouth. The possible gutters are only partly depicted on the Ordnance Survey first edition 25 inch map, which might support the interpretation that the water meadow had been falling out of use for some time prior to the 1880s. The gutters are not identifiable on later aerial photographs available to the survey and might have been levelled.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
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
SDV352504	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1412. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/1412 3219-3220 13-APR-1946. [Mapped feature: #65379 ]

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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