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Summary

A possible simple catch meadow was visible on aerial photographs of 1947 as a single narrow ditch or gutter on the east facing slopes below Fair Oak Farm, Upottery. The ditch has probably been levelled.

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 RP 3303-3304 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A curvilinear earthwork ditch was visible.

Next Perspectives, 2014, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1808-ST1908 08-SEP-2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359479.

The ditch is 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 was visible on aerial photographs of 1947 as a single narrow ditch or gutter on the east facing slopes below Fair Oak Farm, Upottery. The ditch was no more than one metre wide and was visible for approximately 96 metres.
The earthwork is interpreted as a simple catch meadow gutter. Catch meadows are usually found on combe or hill slopes. 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.
Catch meadow gutters typically closely follow the contours in an almost level course to ensure close control over where the water was made to overflow on the slopes. In this instance the gutter ditches cross the contours more obliquely, particularly in the eastern group, possibly indicating a local variation or non-specialist construction.
The water source of the possible catch meadow is unknown. The possible gutter is visible overflowing with water on aerial photographs of April 1947, supporting the interpretation that the ditch was in use into the middle of the 20th century. It cannot be seen as an earthwork on recent images available to the survey 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 RP 3303-3304 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #75924 ]
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 ST1808-ST1908 08-SEP-2014.

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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