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Summary

A catch meadow of probable post-medieval to 19th century date is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as narrow curvilinear earthwork ditches on the south-facing slopes south of Wrangaton. The ditches remain identifiable as subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CATCH MEADOW (Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD to 1880 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 FP 1143-1144 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX6757 20-APR-2015 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

Curvilinear ditches are visible as earthworks.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX6757 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

Curvilinear ditches are identifiable as earthworks.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

Nine or ten curvilinear ditches are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as roughly parallel earthworks up to circa 2m wide and between 50 and 320m long, closely following the contours of the south-facing slopes south of Wrangaton. The gutters can be seen to cut earthwork banks interpreted as the remains of former strip field boundaries (MDV127949) and therefore probably postdate the medieval period.
The channels are interpreted as the remains of a catch meadow potentially of post-medieval to 19th century date.
Catch meadows abstracted from springs or streams and redistributed it along channels or gutters to irrigate combe slopes. Probably originating in the medieval period, they were in widespread use in Devon from the 19th to early 20th century.
The earthworks incorporate three water channels depicted on the Ordnance Survey 1880s 25inch First Edition map. It is possible that the catch-meadow passed out of use by the mid to late-19th century, but these gutters were retained as drains.
The gutters remain identifiable as subtle earthworks on digital images derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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