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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 1946 onwards, to the south of Rydon Farm. The gutters remain partly visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1996, although their survival after this date is unclear.

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, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 3168 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

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

Meridian Airmaps Limited, 1969, MAL/69014, MAL/69014 041-42 05-MAR-1969 (Aerial Photograph). SDV355379.

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

Ordnance Survey, 1996, OS/96567, OS/96567 008-09 08-MAY-1996 (Aerial Photograph). SDV355696.

The catch meadow is partly visible as 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 1946 onwards, to the south of Rydon 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 2.58 hectares of southwest facing slope and comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width. The system appears to be bisected by a northeast to southwest aligned linear drain which may have served to feed the system by diverting the flow of water from a stream located to the northeast of the system. The gutters remain partly visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1996, although their survival after this date is unclear.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV352504	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1412. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/1412 3168 13-APR-1946.
SDV355379	Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1969. MAL/69014. Meridian Airmaps Limited Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). MAL/69014 041-42 05-MAR-1969. [Mapped feature: #71758 ]
SDV355696	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1996. OS/96567. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/96567 008-09 08-MAY-1996.
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

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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