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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 1947, at Billingsmoor.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Traditional Farm Buildings and earthworks of former catch (water)meadow leats, at Billingsmoor Farm

Other References/Statuses

• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RP, RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RP 3048-49 13-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356899.

The catch meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches.

Ordnance Survey, 1967, OS/67039 V, OS/67039 V 124-25 18-APR-1967 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356901.

The earthwork gutters are no longer visible and appear to have been completely levelled.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1947, at Billingsmoor. 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 March and April. This rather fragmentary catch meadow covers an area of approximately 1.65 hectares of southeast facing slope, to the northeast of Billingsmoor. The system comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap two adjacent spring-fed streams. Whilst this system was likely associated with the farmstead at Billingsmoor, it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow appears to have been completely levelled on aerial photographs of 1967.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV356899	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RP. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1995 RP 3048-49 13-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #66867 ]
SDV356901	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1967. OS/67039 V. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/67039 V 124-25 18-APR-1967.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

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