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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 west of Rockbeare Manor.

Location

Protected Status

• Registered Park or Garden (II) 1000193: ROCKBEARE MANOR

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 RP 3064-65 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

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

Royal Air Force, 1963, RAF/543/2332, RAF/543/2332 2F21 021-22 26-JUL-1963 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354847.

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

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SY0394 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

A series of earthwork ditches are visible. Map object 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 catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as a series of earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, to the west of Rockbeare Manor. 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 7.95 hectares of gentle east and west facing slope, either side of a stream which flows downslope towards the northwest. The system comprises a series of gutters which measure less than 2m in width and appear to tap the stream at the point of a sluice gate at its southeast extent. 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 Lidar-derived images of 2005.

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 RP 3064-65 13-APR-1946.
SDV354847	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1963. RAF/543/2332. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/543/2332 2F21 021-22 26-JUL-1963.
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 SY0394 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005.

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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