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Summary

An extensive system of drains or irregular water meadow gutters of probable 19th or early 20th century date is visible as narrow earthwork ditches on aerial photographs from 1947 onwards. Earthworks visible on images derived from lidar data captured between 2005 and 2010 indicate partial survival.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATER MEADOW? (XIX to XX - 1801 AD to 1946 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3285-3286 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

An extensive system of drains or irregular gutters is visible as a network of ditches.

Environment Agency, 2005-2012, LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR ST0410 Environment Agency DTM 19-DEC-2005 & 05-MAR-2010 (Cartographic). SDV357033.

Part of the network of ditches is visible as earthworks.

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

A network of earthwork ditches, in the low lying land of the Culm valley, is visible on aerial photographs from 1947 onwards and on images derived from lidar data captured between 2005 and 2010. The pattern resembles possible water meadow systems of 19th or early-20th century date in the wider region (for example MDV107964), with a main channel from which narrow channels served to irrigate the gentle slopes along the river. However interpretation is tentative and further work would be required to determine whether these were simply drainage ditches.
If this was a water meadow then the point at which the water was sourced is not clear; although numerous weirs are depicted along the watercourses in this vicinity their location does not correspond to any ditches that are visible part of this system of ditches.
To the south-west a further network of drains is visible as earthwork ditches. However their orientation and herringbone layout indicates that these functioned to remove water rather than distribute it across the ground surface.
The ditches are likely to survive at least in part as earthworks.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3285-3286 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #67354 ]
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
SDV357033	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 2005-2012. LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST0410 Environment Agency DTM 19-DEC-2005 & 05-MAR-2010.

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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