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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 overflowing with water on the south-west-facing slopes below Moorland Farm, Luppitt. 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 RS 4443-4444 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A curvlinear ditch was visible as an earthwork.

Next Perspectives, 2010, Aerial Photography for Great Britain (Aerial Photograph). SDV359490.

The gutters were no longer visible as earthworks and have probably been levelled.

Next Perspectives, 2014, Aerial Photography for Great Britain, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery ST1509-ST1609 08-SEP-2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359479.

Two possible gutters or channels were visisble as slight earthworks under pasture.

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 120 metres long was visible on, and partly inferred from, aerial photographs of 1947 overflowing with water on the south-west-facing slopes below Moorland Farm, Luppitt. A second ditch is visible approximately 17 metres downslope as an earthwork under pasture on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2014. The ditches are interpreted as evidence of a simple catch meadow of probable post medieval 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 lower ditch was not clearly visible as an earthwork at this point. Additional ditches might have been present but not apparent, perhaps due to lack of maintenance. The system probably abstracted water from the spring fed stream that rises south-east of the farm and flows downslope to the south-east.
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 ditches cross the contours at an oblique angle. This might indicate a local variation or non-specialist construction.
The earthworks survive as very slight earthworks under pasture to be visible on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2014.

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 RS 4443-4444 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #76060 ]
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 ST1509-ST1609 08-SEP-2014.
SDV359490	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2010. Aerial Photography for Great Britain. Aerial Photography for Great Britain Aerial Photographs. Digital.

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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