See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A possible catchmeadow system north of Allhallows Farm is visible as two curvilinear earthwork ditches on aerial photographs taken in 1947 and on images derived from lidar data captured in 2010. Earthworks are likely to survive.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

No features are depicted in this location.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3290-3291 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Two curvilinear earthwork ditches are visible.

Environment Agency, 2005-2012, LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR ST0810 Environment Agency DTM 05-MAR-2010 (Cartographic). SDV357033.

Two curvilinear earthwork ditches are visible.

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

Two narrow curvilinear earthwork ditches, approximately 2 metres wide, are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1947 and in images derived from lidar data captured in 2010 on a combe slope north of Allhallows Farm. They closely follows the contour, dropping less than 5 metres over more than 300 metres. Their location and alignment along the contour indicate that they could have been the gutters of a small catchmeadow system of probable nineteenth or early twentieth century date.
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.
This source for this small probable catch meadow system is probably the drain that runs along the field boundary immediately to the south. Earthwork remains are likely to survive.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3290-3291 11-APR-1947.
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 ST0810 Environment Agency DTM 05-MAR-2010. [Mapped feature: #67532 ]

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

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

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.