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HER Number: | MDV116734 |
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Name: | Catch Meadow east of Overday Farm, Luppitt parish |
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Summary
A possible simple catch meadow of probable 19th to 20th century date was visible on aerial photographs of 1947 as a narrow ditch or gutter on the south-east-facing slopes below Overday Farm, Luppitt. The ditch has probably been levelled.
Location
Grid Reference: | ST 167 076 |
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Map Sheet: | ST10NE |
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Admin Area | Devon |
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Civil Parish | Luppitt |
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District | East Devon |
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Ecclesiastical Parish | LUPPITT |
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Protected Status: none recorded
Other References/Statuses: none recorded
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- CATCH MEADOW (XVIII to XX - 1800 AD to 1947 AD (Between))
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2302-2303 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.
A curvlinear ditch and possibly associated leat were visible as earthworks.
Next Perspectives, 2010, Aerial Photography for Great Britain (Aerial Photograph). SDV359490.
The gutter was no longer visible as an earthwork and has probably been levelled by the plough.
Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.
A single narrow ditch or gutter approximately 100 metres long was visible on aerial photographs of 1947 overflowing with water on the south-facing slopes below Overady Farm, Luppitt. The ditch is interpreted as evidence of a simple catch meadow of probable 19th to 20th century date.
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. Any lower, roughly parallel gutters then ‘caught’ and redistributed water passing it evenly over the surface of a meadow below in a controlled manner. 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.
Surface marking from flowing water indicated that this gutter had recently been used, or was currently in use in April 1947. The water source could not be identified from the aerial photographs or the maps available to the survey, but the position of the gutter and a possible leat to the south-west of the field, could indicate a source such as a culverted stream originating at a pond or spring in the vicinity of the farm.
Catch meadow gutters typically closely follow the contours in an almost level course to ensure control over where the water is made to overflow. In this instance the ditch crosses the contours at an oblique angle. This might indicate a local variation or non-specialist construction.
The earthwork could not be confidently identified as an earthwork on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2010 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 2302-2303 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #76058 ] |
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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. |
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| Linked documents:2 |
SDV359490 | Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2010. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Aerial Photography for Great Britain Aerial Photographs. Digital. |
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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)
Date Last Edited: | Mar 20 2018 1:11PM |
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