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Summary

A possible simple catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as a narrow curvilinear earthwork ditch on the south-east-facing slopes north of Three Mariners Cross, Cotleigh 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 XX - 1540 AD to 1947 AD? (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2438-2439 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A shallow earthwork ditch was visible.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR ST2102 Bluesky International DTM 24 & 30-APR-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

The ditch or gutter was not visible as an earthwork.

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 simple catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as a narrow curvilinear earthwork ditch on the south-east-facing slopes north of Three Mariners Cross, Cotleigh 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, although simple systems of a single gutter, such as this, are common. 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 location of the possible simple catch meadow was also indicated by evidence of water flowing downslope from the narrow gutter. It is not clear from the map evidence what the water supply would have been, but a spring is the most probable source. The orientation of the possible gutter is also atypical for a catch meadow, crossing the contours at an oblique angle.
The possible gutter was not readily apparent on other photographs available to the survey or digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2016, and has 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 FS 2438-2439 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #75040 ]
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
SDV359714	Cartographic: Bluesky International. 2016. LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects. Not applicable. Digital. LIDAR ST2102 Bluesky International DTM 24 & 30-APR-2016.

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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