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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork and cropmark ditches on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards and on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2010, at the farmstead at Remberton, with which it was probably 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, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1995, RAF/CPE/UK/1995 FP 1046-47 13-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354842.

The catch meadow and later drain are visible as a series of earthwork ditches.

Ordnance Survey, 1967, OS/67220, OS/67220 V 203-04 15-JUN-1967 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356988.

The catch meadow and drain have been largely levelled, although remain visible as slight earthwork ditches.

Next Perspectives, 2010, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9809,SS9909 22-MAY-2010 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356259.

The catch meadow and later drain may have been completely levelled, although are partly visible as faint cropmark ditches.

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 and cropmark ditches on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards and on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2010, at the farmstead at Remberton, with which it was probably 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 March and April. The catch meadow covers an area of approximately 1.50 hectares of southeast facing slope to the south of the farmstead at Remberton. The system comprises a series of parallel gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap a pond-fed stream at the farm. This water meadow might have operated as what has been called an ‘integrated’ catch meadow, in which manure from the cow sheds within the farmyard was mixed with the water supply to supply liquid manure to the pasture. A northwest to southeast aligned drain, which links the stream at the farm to a stream further downslope to the southeast, appears to truncate the catch meadow gutters. The catch meadow and later drain have been largely levelled on aerial photographs of 1967, although do still remain visible as slight earthworks. Digital images of 2010, however, appear to show that the earthworks have been completely levelled, although are partly visible as cropmark ditches.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV354842	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1995. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1995 FP 1046-47 13-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #66985 ]
SDV356259	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2010. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Aerial Photography for Great Britain Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9809,SS9909 22-MAY-2010.
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
SDV356988	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1967. OS/67220. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/67220 V 203-04 15-JUN-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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