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Summary

A possible water meadow system of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches and banks on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards, to the west of Woody Park Fishery.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• WATER MEADOW (Modern - 1751 AD to 2013 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Drains possibly associated with this system to the north are depicted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of between the 1880’s-90’s.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2285-86 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356987.

The water meadow is visible as a series of earthwork ditches and banks.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR ST0410 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 & 05-MAR-2010 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

The water meadow remains visible as a series of possible earthwork ditches and banks.

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

A possible water meadow system of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches and banks on aerial photographs of 1947 onwards, to the west of Woody Park Fishery. This water meadow, or bed works, was likely fed by a carrier channel, or head main, possibly located to the immediate north of the system and depicted on historical mapping. This allowed the flow of water to be diverted from the main river channel of the River Culm, and the flow of water into it controlled via a hatch. Water was then diverted from the headmain across the floodplain via an intricate network of drains and narrower channels which constitute the main part of the system and which are aligned with the gentle sloping gradient of the floodplain. Water could then be admitted to selected areas through a series of subsidiary hatches where the water could be held up. The water eventually entered tapering channels, or floats, situated along parallel ridges, or beds, where the water was made to overflow onto each part of the meadow. Evidence of these beds is visible as a series of northeast to southwest aligned broad earthwork banks which measure up to 17m in width. An extensive network of earthwork ditches was observed to the immediate north and south of this system but were not transcribed as part of this survey since it was unclear how, or if, these features may have related to this water meadow system or, more likely, whether they formed part of a network of drainage ditches. The earthworks remain visible as a series of possible earthwork ditches and banks on digital images derived from Lidar data captured between 2005 and 2010.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
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 2285-86 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #68192 ]
SDV357034	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST0410 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 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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