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Summary

Narrow curvilinear and roughly parallel ditches were visible on aerial photographs of 1946 on the east-facing slopes south of Clyst William Cross, Plymtree parish. The ditches are possibly the remains of a catch meadow of 19th century date.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XX - 1540 AD to 1946 AD? (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1823, RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RP 3297-3298 04-NOV-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV354994.

Curvilinear ditches or gutters were visible as earthworks.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR ST0602 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

The ditches remained visible as slight earthworks.

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

Narrow, shallow and roughly parallel curvilinear ditches were visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as subtle earthworks on the gentle east-facing slopes north-west of Poor Pit Plantation.
The visible earthworks roughly followed the contours of the slope for up to circa 65 metres and were visible over an area of approximately 0.5 hectares.
The ditches are interpreted as the gutters of a small catch meadow irrigation system. Catch meadows were popular in the 19th century but many continued in use into the mid-20th century.
No evidence of recent use was visible on the aerial photographs of November 1947 and the system might have been disused by this date, although catch meadows were most typically operated in the spring signs of irrigation would be more likely in March or April.
The ditches remained visible as very slight earthworks on digital images derived from lidar data captured from 1998 to 2014.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV354994	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1823. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1823 RP 3297-3298 04-NOV-1946.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR ST0602 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014. [Mapped feature: #77618 ]
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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