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Summary

A possible 19th or early-20th century catchmeadow system north of France Farm is visible as several curvilinear earthwork ditches on aerial photographs taken from 1947 and on images derived from lidar data captured in 2010.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Traditional farm buildings and orchard marked on nineteenth century mapping and catch (water)meadow system at France Farm

Other References/Statuses

• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (XVIII to Early 20th Century - 1701 AD to 1932 AD (Between))

Full description

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

No features are depicted in this location, although a sluice is marked along a watercourse along the field boundaries to the north and east.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 4290-4291 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A series of curvilinear earthwork ditches are visible. Map object partly based on this source.

Environment Agency, 2005-2012, LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR ST0808 Environment Agency JPEG DTM 05-MAR-2010 (Cartographic). SDV357033.

A series of curvilinear earthwork ditches are visible. Map object partly 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 network of curvilinear ditches, less than 2 metres wide, is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1947, north-west of France Farm. They closely follow the contour, and their location and alignment indicate that they could have been the gutters of a catchmeadow system of probable nineteenth or early twentieth century date. Several of the gutters are visible as earthworks on images derived from lidar data captured in 2010.
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 appears to be a watercourse emanating from the northern side of France Farm, perhaps part of an ‘integrated’ system that that combined manure with water for distribution across the nearby fields.

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 4290-4291 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 ST0808 Environment Agency JPEG DTM 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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