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Summary

Narrow curvilinear ditches or water channels were visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s on the south-east facing slopes east of Parklands Farm, Awliscombe parish. The ditches might be the remains of a simple catch meadow of probable 19th century date.

Location

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 FP 1445-1446 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

Narrow curvilinaer earthwork ditches were visible. Map object based partly on this source.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST1400 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

Narrow curvilinaer earthwork ditches were visible. Map object based partly on this source.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

Four narrow curvilinear ditches up to circa 85 metres long and no more than 1 metre wide were visible on aerial photographs of 1947 as earthworks on the south-east facing slopes east of Parklands Farm, Awliscombe parish.
The effect of water flowing downslope from the ditches or channels can be seen on the aerial photographs of April 1947. This might support an interpretation of the ditches as gutters of a simple catch meadow irrigation system, as it was in the ‘hungry gap’ of the spring months that such systems were most often used. Catch meadows were popular in the 19th century but probably were first used in the medieval period and many continued in use into the mid-20th century. The ditches remain visible as subtle earthworks on digital images derived from lidar data captured from 1998 to 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 FP 1445-1446 11-APR-1947.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST1400 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
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

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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