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Summary

A catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditch and banked features on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards and on digital images derived from Lidar data captured between 2005 to 2012, to the northwest of West Pitt Farm, 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/1974 FS, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2281-82 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356987.

The catch meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches. Map object based on this source.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SS9510, SS9610 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 - 20-FEB-2012 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

A series of earthwork banks associated with the gutters are visible. Map object based on this source.

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 ditch and banked features on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards and on digital images derived from Lidar data captured between 2005 to 2012, to the northwest of West Pitt Farm, 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 1.86 hectares of northwest facing slope, approximately 28m to the northwest of West Pitt Farm. The system comprises a series of parallel gutters which measure less than 2m in width and which are partly flanked by a series of earthwork banks likely derived from ditch up-cast material. The catch meadow appears to tap a spring-fed stream that rises at the farm and 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. The catch meadow remains partly visible as a series of earthwork banked features on digital images derived from Lidar data captured between 2005-2012.

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
SDV356987	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2281-82 11-APR-1947.
SDV357034	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SS9510, SS9610 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 - 20-FEB-2012.

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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