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Summary

A possible catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s and digital images derived from lidar data as narrow curvilinear and roughly parallel earthwork ditches on the gentle north-west facing slopes of the Otter Valley, north-west of Cheney’s Farm.
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 XX - 1540 AD to 1947 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 F20 3441-3442 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Slight curvilinear earthwork ditches were visible. Map object based partly on this source.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DSM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST1701 Environment Agency DSM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359178.

Slight curvilinear earthwork ditches were visible. Map object based partly on this source.

Next Perspectives, 2014, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1701 08-SEP-2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359479.

The earthwork ditches could not be confidently identified.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

A possible catch meadow was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s and digital images derived from lidar data as narrow curvilinear and roughly parallel earthwork ditches on the gentle north-west facing slopes of the Otter Valley, north-west of Cheney’s Farm. The ditches appear to cut the earthworks of relict field boundaries interpreted as of probable medieval date, and are interpreted as of probable post-medieval to 20th century date.
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.
The earthworks here were partial and fragmentary, indicating that survival was poor beyond the visible remains, but it is probable that the system tapped a stream to the north-east for its water supply.
The earthworks could not be identified on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2014, but a Simple Local Relief visualisation of lidar data supports the interpretation that the gutters survive as very slight earthwork ditches.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 F20 3441-3442 11-APR-1947.
SDV359178	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DSM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST1701 Environment Agency DSM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359479	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2014. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Digital. Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1701 08-SEP-2014.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)

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