See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A possible catch meadow of probable 19th century date is visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1947 and on digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2016, to the east of Yarcombe.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))
• DRAIN (XIX to XX - 1801 AD to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 RP 3310-11 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Possible remains of a catch meadow system are visible as earthwork ditches.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR ST2408 Bluesky International DTM 24 & 30-APR-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

Possible remains of a catch meadow system are visible as earthwork ditches.

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 19th century date is visible as earthwork ditches on aerial photographs of 1947 and on digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2016, to the east of Yarcombe. Most 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. 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 March and April. The possible catch meadow covers an area of approximately 0.63 hectares of southeast facing slope. The system comprises two sinuous gutters which measure less than 2m in width and which appear to tap a spring-fed stream that rises approximately 195m to the north. It is unclear from the aerial photographs alone with which farm this water meadow system might have been associated with. Not being directly linked to a farmstead it probably operated as a ‘detached’ system. The catch meadow should, however, be viewed with some degree of caution, and it is possible these ‘gutters’ are part of a field drainage system since a number of drains, albeit more linear in form, are visible within the immediate area.

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 3310-11 11-APR-1947.
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 ST2408 Bluesky International DTM 24 & 30-APR-2016. [Mapped feature: #76311 ]

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)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.