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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 onwards, at Woodcocks Well.

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 FS, RAF/CPE/UK/1995 FS 2043-44 13-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356946.

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

Next Perspectives, 2002, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery ST0008 29-SEP-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351206.

The former catch meadow remains partly visible as a series of earthwork 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 ditches on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards, at Woodcocks Well. 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 0.44 hectares of east facing slope, approximately 125m to the east of the farmstead of Woodcocks Well. The system comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width and likely tap a spring-fed pond visible approximately 60m to the southwest. Whilst the catch meadow system is likely to have been associated with the farmstead at Woodcocks Well, it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow remains partly visible as a series of faintly defined earthwork ditches on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2002.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351206	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2002. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery ST0008 29-SEP-2002.
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
SDV356946	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1995 FS. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1995 FS 2043-44 13-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #67421 ]

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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