See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A possible catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1960s as very slight and narrow earthwork ditches north of Stooke Bridge, Broad Clyst.
Catch meadows are usually found on combe or hill slopes and are designed to irrigate pasture by diverting water from a spring or stream and passing it along the slope via a series of roughly parallel channels or gutters. When irrigation was required the gutters were blocked, causing water to overflow from gutter to gutter, thereby irrigating the slopes below.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1880 AD (Between))

Full description

BKS Surveys Ltd, 1967, BKS/2822, BKS/2822 V 3001-3002 14-MAR-1967 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354836.

Curvilinear earthwork ditches were visible.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SY0298 Environment Agency JPG DSM 19 Dec 2005
& 5 Mar 2010 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

The ditches were not visible, probably plough levelled. The slight terraces that the gutters were probably sited on remain visible as landforms; it is unclear from the lidar data alone whether the gutters were sited to take advantage of the terraces or if the terraces are remains of the ditch earthworks.

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

A possible simple catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1960s onwards as very slight and narrow earthwork ditches on the gentle west facing slopes on the River Clyst, to the north of Stooke Bridge.
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.
In this instance the catch meadow probably tapped the river at its northern end and was possibly supplemented by a drain or head main towards its southern end.
The field has now been turned over to arable cultivation and the gutter earthworks levelled, but the slight terraces along which the lower gutters ran are still visible on digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2005 and 2010.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV354836	Aerial Photograph: BKS Surveys Ltd. 1967. BKS/2822. BKS Surveys Ltd. Photograph (Paper). BKS/2822 V 3001-3002 14-MAR-1967. [Mapped feature: #71977 ]
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
SDV357034	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SY0298 Environment Agency JPG DSM 19 Dec 2005 & 5 Mar 2010.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.