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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 as narrow curvilinear earthwork ditches on the north-east facing slopes of a combe to the east of Ridge Court Farm, Stockland parish.
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 XXI - 1540 AD to 2014 AD (Between))
• DRAIN? (XVIII to XX - 1751 AD to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RP 3433-3434 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Narrow ditches were visible as earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 2000, OS/00973, OS/00973 V 12-13 19-MAR-2000 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359480.

The ditches were not visible as earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 2016, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359352.

A linear drainage ditch was depicted on the slopes below Ridge Court Farm

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 of probable post-medieval to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as narrow curvilinear earthwork ditches on the north-east facing slopes of a combe to the east of Ridge Court Farm, Stockland parish.
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. Any 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 effect of water flowing down the combe slopes was visible on aerial photographs of April 1947, which might support the interpretation that the catch meadow was in use at this date. However, a number of factors indicate caution in the interpretation as a water meadow. Catch meadow gutters typically closely follow the lie of the contours but the earthworks recorded here tend to cross the contours at an oblique or almost lateral angle. In addition a drainage ditch is depicted on the current OS MasterMap on a similar alignment. These factors do not categorically mean that the ditches could not operate as a catch meadow but might indicate that they were either a local type or integrated a drainage function.
The possible gutters were not visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 2000 and have probably been levelled.

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 RP 3433-3434 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #74824 ]
SDV359352	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2016. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital.
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
SDV359480	Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 2000. OS/00973. Ordnance Survey. Photograph (Paper). OS/00973 V 12-13 19-MAR-2000.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

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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