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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, to the northwest of Higher Bingwell Farm.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Isolated 19th century farm building and earthworks of catch meadow system also probably of 19th century date to north-east of Swallowfields

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 RP, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RP 3279-80 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV357337.

Faint traces of the catch meadow are visible.

Get Mapping, 1999, GM/121/99, Devon County Council GetMapping/121/99 346-47- 24-JUL-1999 (Aerial Photograph). SDV355055.

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

Next Perspectives, 2010, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9611 22-MAY-2010 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356259.

The catch meadow is 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, to the northwest of Higher Bingwell Farm. 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 0.49 hectares of northeast facing slope. The system comprises a series of parallel gutters which measure less than 2m in width and which is possibly fed from a northeast to southwest aligned ditch which bisects the gutters. It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farm this water meadow system might have been associated with. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow remains visible as a series of earthwork ditches on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2010.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV355055	Aerial Photograph: Get Mapping. 1999. GM/121/99. Get Mapping Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). Devon County Council GetMapping/121/99 346-47- 24-JUL-1999. [Mapped feature: #67708 ]
SDV356259	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2010. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Aerial Photography for Great Britain Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Imagery SS9611 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
SDV357337	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RP. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RP 3279-80 11-APR-1947.

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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